Babies Ever After
by Preciousheart93
Summary: The conclusion of my Max Headroom trilogy. Theora gets pregnant by Edison and Tina gets pregnant by Bryce, but only one of them ends up happy.
1. Chapter 1

Since Theora had first met him, Edison Carter had always impressed her, maybe even fascinated her at times. For one thing, he was one of the few reporters she'd known who had a true sense of integrity and took on challenging stories for the sake of bringing criminals to justice and unveiling the seedy underbelly of the city, regardless of network reaction. For another, he had an instinctive sense for news stories, and pursuing them to their conclusion nearly always yielded gold.

Besides these facts, however, Theora was impressed and fascinated by how Edison's trademark determination transferred into the pursuit of her affection.

He had always been interested in her, and often liked to show it. In return, Theora liked to tease him, never giving hints of reciprocation. It was impossible, she knew, even if Edison refused to see. She wouldn't get involved for fear of being used, mistreated, disrespected. She was afraid of the dagger-sharp glares that fellow network employees would throw at her in the halls. She was especially afraid of the dirty two-syllable word- _privilege._

But then she risked her life to save his, and her recuperation in the hospital gave Theora plenty of time to think over her relationship with Edison and how it could be taken to the next level.

And now, since they had first gotten together Theora found herself entertaining Edison Carter almost every night. Sometimes they went to his penthouse and sometimes they hung out at her place. Usually there was tea and laughing and heartfelt conversation. Always they ended up making love, tangled together into one four-legged being beneath the smooth sheets of whoever's bed it happened to be. Never did the other stay in the morning, unless he or she had brought over what he or she would need for the next day.

Theora was having so much fun with Edison that she didn't ruminate too seriously on the consequences of their nights together. In hindsight, it was an extremely foolish thing to do, but neither one ever considered protection. They were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that their relationship contained physical activity at all, and every night it happened so suddenly, smoothly, that there was hardly any time to ask.

But when Theora's period was a week, and then two weeks, and then (after waiting just for proof) a month late, the consequences descended harshly and threatened to beat her over the head.

And when the pregnancy test she held in her hands turned from blue to pink, she couldn't stop the pleasantly shocked grin from taking over her face, even as she did wonder what in the world she was going to do now.


	2. Chapter 2

Tina Wilson's wedding had not been a very remarkable affair. It was a bit of a disappointment, really. Every childhood dream she had ever had of getting married had involved flower petals raining from the ceiling into the aisle and showering the guests. It had involved a white dress with a train so long that several attendants had to carry it along behind her, a ring that sparkled so brightly it nearly blinded the guests, and a kiss with the man she loved that seemed to last forever.

There was no doubt in her mind that the man- or rather boy- she loved now felt the same way in return, albeit in a unique way. It was just the way they had gone about marrying that felt odd to her. Bryce Lynch had proposed off-handedly in the middle of a crowded workroom at Network 23, mere seconds after the big street fight had ended with the Blanks victorious. In a rush of extreme affection, Tina had run to Bryce and hugged him close to her, kissing his soft hair. He held her back warmly, and this she took as a sign of reconciliation. Bryce had recently seemed distant to her, but now he was back to her arms. Pulling back, Tina shared a tender smile with her boyfriend, before he asked abruptly, "Do you want to get married?"

The question staggered her. She stepped back, fumbling for some sort of reply. _But what does one say to THAT?_

"…Bryce…" she got out after a moment of anxiety, and his shining face fell a bit. "I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to…"

"No!" Tina blurted. "No, I…" She took a deep breath and smoothed back her hair. "It's just sudden, you know? After all… that…" She gestured vaguely with her hand to indicate the window where many network employees had watched the battle come to a dramatic close.

"Oh," said Bryce. "I suppose now isn't the best time. But Tina, I wanted to… I've been talking with some friends, and they helped me realize that I really do love you." He smiled, sounding a little shy when he spoke of _love- _such a mature emotion. "Well, I mean, I don't think I knew what love was until we started going out, and we've been living together anyway, so I thought…" He took a deep breath. "I thought it might be time for us to get married."

"But Bryce…" _People don't get married after a few months, _she wanted to say. Stupid ACS for not teaching him these things, warping his view of the world. Bryce gazed at her, his buoyant expression hardening into his serious, _I'm doing work now don't disturb me _face. Tina sighed internally and took his hand.

"Bryce, let me think about this. I'll give you an answer tomorrow, okay? Now's the time for work." What with Max's broadcast complete, Edison in a location unknown, and Theora last seen with a bullet through her chest, Network 23 was sure to become chaotic in a few minutes.

"All right," Bryce said, squeezing Tina's hand. He let go of her and turned back to the computer. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

That night Tina considered all of her possibilities with Bryce in the privacy of her home. If she did end up marrying him, there was the age gap to consider first. A four-year difference wasn't as drastic as other relationships she had seen, but Bryce was seventeen, just barely a legal adult. He also had the mentality of a younger child in some aspects of his personality, possibly making up for the childhood he had missed out on at ACS. Then there was the difference in status at Network 23- Bryce alone was the head of technology, a prestigious status for a young boy, while Tina was only a controller. The reporter she worked for wasn't nearly as popular as Edison Carter or any other global celebrities. Would Bryce be seen as marrying beneath him?

Of course, the biggest challenge to consider was that Tina had only been dating Bryce for a few months. It was risky to jump the gun and head right into marriage before the two had fully gotten to know each other.

But Bryce would be so very disappointed, and he clearly wanted this and had no qualms about its possible failure. He was so naïve, but he might have a point…

The door buzzed the next morning while Tina was eating breakfast, and she peered through the peephole to find the person she wanted to see standing there. She unlocked the door and let Bryce in, where he gazed around the place with happy familiarity. "Frances isn't up yet?"

"She's not here," Tina said. "I couldn't find her after the battle."

Bryce shrugged and sat down at the kitchen table opposite Frances. "She probably didn't want to be arrested for helping MacPhisto. Does that mean I can move back in, then?"

Despite Bryce's general bluntness, Tina caught her smiling at him in response. "If we don't locate her, then certainly you can move back in."

"All right." He pushed his glasses up and idly kicked the side of the table, catching Tina's eye. "Did… did you decide anything about getting married?"

Instead of answering right away, Tina stood up from her seat. She walked towards Bryce and placed her hands on his shoulders, causing him to look up at her in befuddlement. Then Tina bent down ever so sweetly and touched her lips to his.

"The answer," she said when she pulled away, "is yes."

So they were married right before work, in the Vu-Age Church (the closest one they could find). They wore their work clothes and were overseen by a few worshippers and street passersby. It wasn't at all like how Tina had once imagined, but she decided she rather liked it. The only part that was anything like her childhood daydreams was when Bryce pulled from his pocket a dazzling wedding band, encrusted with small rhinestones. Solemnly, he held it out to her.

"Oh my God, Bryce," Tina managed to gasp, forgetting that she was in a church for a moment. "Where did you get that?!"

"I found it at a department store last night," he said. "I figured that if you didn't say yes, I could give it to Theora if she wanted it."

Her eyes filled with tears as Bryce slid the ring onto Tina's finger. They then clasped hands and stated the vows.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," the clergyman said. "You may kiss."

They kissed, and Tina was in bliss. She made a mental note to buy Bryce some sort of present in return when she could.

The new Tina Lynch's wedding night was nothing like how she imagined it would be, either. She'd always counted on sex with a man who she knew was compatible, a lustful interlude before bedtime and after dinner. Of course, a honeymoon was out of the question with her and Bryce's jobs, and not only had she never been with Bryce before, but she had never slept with any other person. The most she could hope for was an awkward yet romantic experience.

She didn't even get that. Bryce did come to her apartment that night after being assured that no search had turned up Frances McMillan (who Tina worried slightly about, but the thought soon faded from her mind), and he stayed the night, but not in the way Tina was expecting. After a shared dinner, Tina cleared the dishes from the table while Bryce migrated over to the couch and flipped channels to see what was on TV. Tina's heart began thudding, and she raised her voice as if trying to drown it out. "I'm going to the bathroom," she said, and Bryce nodded. Tina fled the room and locked herself in, mentally preparing and calming herself down. She finally stripped down to only her bra and underwear, took a deep breath, and then walked back out again.

Bryce was watching the TV with both hands behind his head, but he looked up as Tina entered the room. At first he blinked as if not sure what to make of the sight, and then he said, "I didn't think it was that hot in here."

"Ssh," Tina whispered, ignoring the way her body filled with nervous tremors as she crept closer to Bryce. She sat down on the couch next to him and switched channels again to a program that would be easy to tune out. Then she leaned in close and pulled Bryce's face towards hers, closing the gap with a kiss. Slowly her hands came up to his shoulders, kneading the cloth of his shirt and the skin underneath.

Bryce tolerated this at first, hugging Tina in response and kissing her back, but when Tina's hands moved under his shirt to touch his bare chest, he shuddered and pulled away. Tina slowly came back into focus to see Bryce recoiling from her, and immediately understood and felt ashamed.

"Oh, Bryce," she said. "I'm sorry… I didn't think…"

"You want to have sex with me?" The statement was a question, curving up in a squeak at the end.

"I… I do," Tina said, feeling her face burn as she admitted it, "but I'm not going to do it if it makes you think of _him."_

Bryce only stared at her for a second, and then took her hand. They clung into a loose embrace, Tina stroking Bryce's hair. Funny, but the touch of bare female skin didn't seem to bother him, as if he had forgotten she wasn't wearing clothes.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Tina whispered in Bryce's ear. "I hope you know that."

"You wouldn't hurt me," Bryce mumbled. He pulled away, staring into Tina's blue eyes. "But it's not just that. I just… I don't actually… _want _you."

_I don't want you. _Tina froze, and her heart fractured. She spoke in a low voice. "You don't want me?"

"Not in that way," Bryce said. He pressed her hand. "Listen Tina, I love you romantically, but I… I don't want sex to be a part of our relationship. It's not just Alex DeLarge, it's just… I'm not really interested in sex, I don't think. It doesn't sound appealing to me."

_Such a child, _Tina thought, remembering her reflections on Bryce's occasionally immature mentality. She tried to console herself with _He'll grow out of it. He was hurt, but he'll get better, and then we can… _She didn't let herself finish the thought.

"I'm sorry for assuming…" she started, and Bryce silenced her by kissing her hand. "Don't be sorry. I hope you understand."

Tina nodded, and presently broke free of Bryce to get off the couch. She let out a shaky laugh as she traveled to the bathroom- "I guess I should put my clothes back on." Bryce laughed too, sounding as if he was already settling back into the previous relaxed atmosphere.

However, Tina had to lock herself in the bathroom again, this time to prevent Bryce from noticing how upset she was. She sat down on the closed toilet and hid her face in her hands. It wasn't that she specifically wanted sex, anyway. If Bryce didn't want it, they could live without it. But without intercourse, she couldn't see any way that a baby could be born in their family. What she had wanted most of all since childhood, more than a wedding or a wedding night, went fading away like a snowflake melting on a hot pavement.


	3. Chapter 3

Thankfully, Theora had discovered her supposed pregnancy over a weekend, when she had some precious time off from her expansive job. Edison didn't come over Saturday or Sunday, though they talked briefly on Sunday over the viewphone. It was important to both of them that they spent certain weekends by themselves or with other acquaintances. Working together during the week might not provide them with much romantic potential, but they didn't want to get in each other's faces too much. The relationship might sour with long exposure. Theora was glad that Edison, unlike her previous boyfriend, understood this.

She didn't mention what she had found out when she spoke with Edison on the viewphone. It was the kind of information that one shared in person. But when the call had ended and Theora retired to her sofa to watch TV, she couldn't help but settle her hand over her stomach and look down at it ponderingly. Somewhere inside of her, a cluster of cells was beginning to take human shape. Dimly she wondered if she wanted to give birth to whatever was growing in her. She had been off-and-on about the subject of children for most of her life, never making a decision either way, and now that she held a high-ranking position at a TV corporation she wasn't sure if she could afford to raise a child, time-wise.

Theora had never discussed the matter with Edison. It was likely because neither of them had expected their relationship to get very far, anyway. A series of flings after-hours in their apartments seemed more stable than a marriage.

The following morning was Monday and, not by coincidence, a work day. Theora dressed and ate her breakfast hurriedly, her gut clenching with nerves. She gazed at herself in a mirror and smoothed down her expression. _When you see Edison, _she thought to herself, _take him aside and tell him immediately. You have to._

Once Theora entered Network 23, however, she was greeted by a familiar yet heart-sinking sight- Edison and Murray stood a pace away from Theora's monitor, and though their voices weren't quite loud enough to be heard from the doorway, it was clear from their body language (particularly Edison's domineering stance) that they were on the brink of an argument. Theora stifled a sigh as she approached them, realizing she would have to make peace with the reporter and producer before she could talk to Edison in private.

As soon as Murray noticed Theora coming towards him, he broke away from Edison and walked in her direction. "I'm glad you're here, Theora. I've received some important news that you need to hear."

_And I have some important news that Edison needs to hear, _Theora thought. She stole a glance at Edison, slouching against the table that Theora's monitor sat on. Behind Murray's back, he waved her an utterly relaxed _hello. _She grinned.

"What is it, Murray?"

He cleared his throat, as much an attempt to get Theora's attention back to him as a means of preparing himself to speak. Obediently, Theora turned her eyes onto him, and Murray replied.

"Our network candidate, Simon Peller, had relatives visiting him recently," he said. "One of the relatives was a young girl who was adopted by Peller's sister and brother-in-law. She's gone missing."

"Oh no," Theora said, the weight of the situation impressing itself on her. Personally she wasn't too big a fan of Peller and didn't know why he had been chosen again as Network 23's candidate for Attorney General after he had lost the last telelection, but it was still upsetting to hear of a tragedy in his family.

"You'd think that's bad enough," Murray said. "But you haven't heard the twist. The kidnappers of this girl, Nicole Rains, sent Peller a message via a handwritten note taped to his apartment door." Theora frowned- _handwritten? _No one wrote messages by hand anymore; they preferred to send them over the viewphone, but she supposed it was necessary for the sake of anonymity. Murray continued, "Apparently these kidnappers are part of an organization known only as the Order of the Hackers. There was an explicit threat in the message that stated if Peller didn't give up information to the Hackers about how to unlock the city's mainframe by the end of November, they would in turn 'hack'-" He made quotation marks with his fingers. "-his niece. I'm sure you can guess it won't be very pretty."

Theora shuddered, imagining two possible ways the "hack" could go. "Hack as in to cut, or hack as in…" It was disgusting to think about, but she managed to say it anyway. "To invade?"

"It seems they mean exclusively the murderous meaning of the word, but who knows, another form of physical violence could be on the agenda as well," Murray said, sounding just as displeased as Theora felt. "It's nasty business all around."

"You can say that again," Theora murmured. "What does it have to do with us, though?"

At that Edison, who had been listening placidly to this in the background all the while, let out a grim chuckle loud enough to make Murray turn and look at him. "See, what did I tell you?" he announced, gesturing towards Theora. "I knew she would ask the same question."

"I was getting to that before Theora arrived," Murray said. He moved, motioning Theora forward until the three members of Network 23's most popular news show were all standing in a circle around each other, blocking out any listeners. Murray spoke quickly, relaying information, and Theora and Edison leaned in to hear him. "As you know, Peller is up for the telelection again next year. He's the best candidate we've got lined up, and you know he hasn't exactly done honest things in the past. We need to find his niece not just to save her, but to make sure Peller doesn't give these Hackers any dangerous information. He'd be disqualified from next year's running and we'd have to find a new candidate, among other things."

"Yeah, among other things," Edison muttered. "Other things such as these Hackers taking over the city mainframe and creating havoc. Other things such as a little girl being brutally killed… What does Peller know about the mainframe, anyway? If they really wanted information, they could have targeted Theora." Theora flushed and briefly glanced down at her shoes, her mind turning onto the secret she would soon have to share with Edison.

Murray stared over at Edison with the expression of someone who had long since given up trying to make his friend see sense. "Peller's political work might have unveiled something," he said. "Besides, his family is desperate to get Nicole back. They'd do anything to get the information that will save her life. I understand your need to put human lives at the top priority, but you must remember that the network comes directly after."

"It still sounds like a job for the Metrocops," Edison argued. "I thought we were done with life-threatening nutcases for a while. I thought-"

"I know," Murray suddenly cut in. "You thought you'd be given a break. Well, you just have to deal with it, Edison! I urge you to join the investigation for its life-saving potential at the very least. Don't sulk about it," he added as Edison stared ruefully at him. "Don't pout. It's like you've given your job up."

Theora laid a hand on his arm. "There'll be plenty of free time after the story is over," she said. "We'll find her, and then you can go back to covering your usual topics." Despite herself, she smiled slightly, remembering that Edison's usual topics were sometimes just as hardcore as this political case was.

Edison didn't look entirely convinced by Theora's conviction, but he smiled back at her and took her hand. "Thank you for your vote of confidence."

"You're welcome," Theora laughed. She reluctantly tore her gaze away from Edison's blue eyes and glanced over at Murray. "And now, I have something important to discuss with you. Murray, if you'll leave us alone…"

"Lovebirds," Murray grumbled, but he turned away. Theora waited until he had retreated into his office before stepping away from Edison and staring him hard in the eye.

He seemed slightly confused. "What's on your mind, Theora?"

Theora took a deep breath and clasped her hands together. She had to tell it to him straight, without any kind of prelude. Either way it would still shock him. "Edison… I'm pregnant."

The shock didn't occur as quickly as Theora had expected. First Edison seemed to be frozen in place, his face unchanged as he processed what Theora had said. Then he uttered the word that it seemed most men uttered when they heard their sexual partner tell them the same thing. "What?"

Theora took a step forward, and Edison's face slowly moved from one of composure to one of surprise. "Is it-" He caught himself before he could ask the foolish question, one corner of his mouth turning up. "You… haven't been s_eeing _anyone…"

"Of course not," Theora said gently, somewhat amused by Edison's reaction. She tried to take his hand, but he pulled it away at the last second, his eyes firmly anchored to her face. He blinked, starting to regain control of himself. "I knew we should have used…"

"Don't worry about it," Theora said. She reached up to place her palm on Edison's cheek, and this time he let her touch him, still gazing down at her in shock that was dissolving into wonderment. "Theora, I… oh God," he said, suddenly breaking off whatever he had been about to say to laugh. "This isn't the first time someone's accused me of being the father of their child, you know."

"It isn't?" Theora said, surprised. Edison shook his head. "It happened before you came to work here, and had no basis in reality whatsoever." He laughed again and then reached out to pull Theora into a tight embrace. "So you… you want to have the kid?"

_Kid. _What an unusual thing to describe the embryo inside her. "I think so," Theora said, and felt an exhilarated thrill rush through her at the admittance. She _did _want a child in her life. "But if you aren't interested…"

If he wasn't interested _what? _Did Theora need Edison to tell her what to do with the fetus inside her body? Of course she might need him to provide child support, but she didn't specifically need another person to help her take care of a child, especially when she had a sister-in-law who had already gone through the same…

Edison extinguished all of these silent worries with another laugh that seemed to travel through Theora's bones. "Of course I'm interested, Theora." He pulled away from her, his eyes shining with excitement. "I… I'm so proud." They stared blissfully at each other, and then Edison leaned in to tenderly kiss Theora's cheek.

"Of whom?" Theora couldn't help mischievously asking. "Of me, or yourself?"

Edison puffed out his chest and droned in an upper-class tone, "It would seem, Theora, that my masculine physique is not to be underestimated-"

"Whoah-whoah-whoah, what's all this hullabaloo-baloo?" cried a voice from the nearest available screen. "Edison as b-b-b-boastful as me?"

"I'm going to be a father," Edison said breathlessly, turning towards his virtual identity, Max Headroom.

"Yippee-ppee!" Max exclaimed, looking as if he would be jumping for joy if he had legs with which to jump. "Who'd'a th-thunk it- well, anyone who can see your room-r-r-room at night!"

"Shut up, Max," Edison said evenly. "You're too busy spinning muvids and interviewing celebrities to go snooping on us anymore."

"I kn-know," Max said forlornly. "Ah, the g-g-good old days. So we're p-p-parents now? Who's the l-lucky lady?"

"We're?" Theora muttered, and Edison prodded her lightly in the side, a smile on his face. "Shh. Max, it's Theora."

"Ah!-ah," Max replied, seeming proud of himself. "I coulda guessed that myself-self. Well, congratula-la-lations on the kid- I'm g-g-going for a walk." With that he blinked off the screen, and Theora was left shaking her head, as always when Max came to visit. "He's going to spread it all around the building, isn't he?"

"Most likely," Edison said, and sighed. He tightened his grip on Theora, hugging her again before letting her go. "I'm just glad to hear the news. You're taking care of yourself, right?"

"I'll try my best," Theora said. "Thank you so much for being there, Edison."

Sure enough, in a few moments Max's gossip had gotten out all around Theora's workplace, and employees started coming up to her to offer their congratulations. Murray burst out of his office and headed straight for her, a distressed look on his face. "Is it true?" was the first thing he said. Theora had to hold back her giggles.

"Yes, Murray, it's very true. Edison and I are having a child together." She embraced Murray, who seemed embarrassed and overjoyed at once. "Good luck to you two, then."

"Thank you." Theora let go of Murray, just in time to hear a voice behind her call her name. "Theora?" She turned around to find her friend Tina standing there, a tentative smile on her face. "Congratulations about getting pregnant."

"Thank you!" Theora exclaimed, pulling Tina in for a hug. As they pulled apart, though, she couldn't noticing the way Tina bit her lip, looking troubled, before she pushed it away. "Tina, are you all right?"

Tina gave her a forced, bright smile. "I'm fine. I'm happy for you."

"Are you sure?" Theora stated. "You can talk to me if anything's wrong." Seeing her companion's expression start to fade, she added, "It doesn't have anything to do with Bryce, does it?" Though Theora had been delighted when she heard the news about Tina marrying Bryce, she was still surprised that they had gotten together so quickly, and wasn't sure if she thought such a union was the right way to go.

Tina gave a shrug and a strangled laugh. "Oh no, Bryce is fine. We're doing well together. It's just…" She sighed and looked down at the floor, seeming to loathe herself for saying the words. "It's just, when I heard you were pregnant I got kind of jealous. Bryce refuses to sleep with me because apparently he's not interested in sex." She looked up, rolling her eyes slightly. "All I've ever wanted in my adult life is the chance to settle down and have a few kids, but now that I've settled down it looks like the kids part isn't going to happen."

"Oh, Tina." Theora cocked her head, wishing she could touch her friend but not sure how Tina would react. "I'm sorry that I made you feel upset. But you know there are other ways. Any hospital will fertilize you with one of their sperm donors…"

"I don't want some random man's kid growing in me," Tina said. "I want my husband's- Bryce's. But I shouldn't bother you with my problems." She gave a small smile. "I'm happy for you, really I am."

"You should talk it over with Bryce," Theora called as Tina retreated from her. "Respect his wishes, but also make yours known. There might be an alternative."

"Maybe." This time the smile was more genuine on Tina's face as she walked away. "Thank you, Theora. Again, congratulations."


	4. Chapter 4

Just as the appointment she had made the night before suggested, Tina met with Dr. Ryder at Ovu-Vat during her lunch break to discuss the possibility of pregnancy via artificial insemination. As she sat in the lobby of the place, she fidgeted and conjured up tall, intimidating images of this doctor she had come to see. It therefore came as a surprise when upon being called forward and led into a private office, the man who rose before her to shake hands was small and friendly-looking, with a grin so wide it overtook his entire face. Tina couldn't help but return the expression as he offered her a chair and she sat.

"Well now," Dr. Ryder said once Tina was safely installed in her seat. "Might as well do away with any preliminaries. What is your reason for getting pregnant, Tina?"

"What else could it be?" Tina stated. "I've always wanted kids, ever since I was young. I used to play with baby dolls all the time." She laughed a little self-consciously before deciding that Ryder's eyes were kind enough to give him some more information. "My parents doted on me for a while before my dad lost his job, and I was always hoping that when I grew older I'd be able to give the same kind of attention to a child of mine."

"Let's review your medical file," Dr. Ryder said, turning to his monitor and pulling up a chart of Tina's medical history. "I had it transferred from the medcen," he explained. "Can't be too careful. Anyway, it says here that you've no history of mental illness in your family, no history of heart disease, physical disabilities…" Tina shook her head and offered a tight smile as Ryder turned back to her. "Are you currently single?"

"Married, actually," Tina corrected, feeling a bit stiff. She switched positions in her chair. "I'm an employee at Network 23- my husband is Bryce Lynch, the head of technology."

Dr. Ryder's eyes lit up at the mention of Bryce. "Oh yes, I've heard of him from the story Edison Carter did two months ago. I do hope he's doing better now."

"Yes, he sure is," Tina said. "Although there's one problem…"

"Yes, Mrs. Lynch?"

_Mrs. Lynch. _It sounded strange, far too official for Tina's liking. She forged ahead anyway. "I think that Bryce was affected by his attack in such a way that he… he feels an aversion to, well, engaging in sexual intercourse with me. He says he's just not interested…" Suddenly remembering who she was talking to, Tina took a deep breath and composed herself. This wasn't a psychiatric appointment; this was a doctor who specialized in artificial fertilization. Her smile cracked on her face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't go into too much detail. But the long story short is that I really want children, and my husband won't m- you know, so I've come here to see if you can help."

"It looks like you've come to the right place," said Dr. Ryder, unfazed by everything Tina had said. "I just want to ask you one question- is your husband aware that you've made this appointment?"

Tina faltered. "Well, no…" She stared directly into Ryder's eyes and upped the charm, hoping that he wouldn't see anything wrong with Bryce's lack of consent. "I just wanted to get a sense of what you're doing before making any decisions. Of course I won't exclude him when it comes to deciding on what to do about children."

Dr. Ryder gave a tight smile that to Tina seemed to be more judging than warm. "That's good to hear, Mrs. Lynch. Some women who've come to us want to surprise their partners, seemingly because their attempts at getting pregnant the natural way have been unsuccessful and they want to make their partners believe the opposite. We've had to turn them down, of course. Consent is needed from both potential parents if the women in question is not single."

"Wow," was all Tina could say for a moment. "Sounds very… professional."

This time Ryder's smile grew more relaxed. "It is what we're paid to do here, Mrs. Lynch."

"Oh, I didn't mean…" She flushed. "It's just, you've come a long way from stealing babies out of their Grobags."

"Yes," Dr. Ryder said evenly. "But let's not talk about Ovu-Vat's disreputable past. What's important is that if you manage to go through with the artsem process, you will need Bryce Lynch to sign the consent papers alongside yourself."

"I know that," Tina said, impatiently crossing her heels. She pictured with slight horror what Bryce's face would look like when he heard that Tina wanted children. "We'll talk it over tonight and I'll contact you if we reach a positive conclusion."

"Then it's settled." Dr. Ryder smiled again- the sunshine just never left his face, Tina reflected. "Thank you for visiting Ovu-Vat today, Mrs. Lynch."

"Thank _you, _Dr. Ryder." They shook hands again, and Tina was halfway out the door before Dr. Ryder called behind her back, "Oh, Mrs. Lynch?"

Tina turned. "Yes?"

Surprisingly, the smile on Ryder's face was gone now, and he looked somewhat grave as he gestured to Tina. "I may not be a psychiatrist or anyone qualified to make this assumption, but even though your husband has been through a traumatic sexual experience, it doesn't necessarily mean that what happened affected his desire for you, or lack thereof. What I'm trying to say is that I've seen plenty of women come in here asking for artsem because their partners are uninterested in sexual activity. It's not common, but it happens every now and then. We even had one woman who wasn't interested in sex but wanted to give birth on her own." He shrugged, his palms facing the ceiling. "I just suggest talking to your husband about this."

Tina gave a farewell smile. "That's what I'm going to do. Thank you again." She turned away from the office, her mind buzzing with thoughts of Bryce Lynch and the conversation they would have to have that night.

Once their dinner of barbecue pizza was finished, Bryce drifted over to a round chair by the window and began to tinker with something electronic that he had brought home from work (Tina had given him permission to convert the extra bedroom into a lab, but she knew he would be lazy about it), while Tina loaded the dishwasher and turned it on. Once the menial task was done, she sat down on the couch and flipped through TV channels. Most programs were all about action at this hour, bringing in the thrillers and cliffhangers to entertain the whole family before the late-night soaps came on, solely for adults to enjoy. Tina had watched plenty of them in her day, and she idly thought that it was silly to broadcast such shows so late; none of them were explicit in any way that might offend younger viewers. In fact, the writing was usually so poor that it was hard to look beyond it to even get involved in the storyline. _And yet half the city watches this drivel-_

Tina turned her head to look at Bryce, and he lifted his head from the bundle of flickering lights in his lap and gave her a boyish smile, aware that she had been watching. Tina smiled back and took a sip of her highball, which she had just mixed a few moments ago. She called out, "What are you working on, Bryce?"

His hands moved to lift the thing in his lap and show it to her. It looked like the smooth, black surface of a computer's screen, although it was far smaller and flat. Bryce pried at the screen and it came loose, revealing wires and a computer chip beneath.

"It's something that my friend Jenny and I decided to develop," he said matter-of-factly, pushing his glasses up his nose with one finger. "This thing will revolutionize technology if we can get it to work. It has the same functions any computer would have, but for the first time, it's portable. People wouldn't have to sit at a desk all day to use a computer; they can only reach into their bags and pull this out when they need it."

"Wow," Tina said, and she meant it in as genuine a way as possible. "It just occurred to me, has anyone ever told you you're a genius?"

Bryce's blue eyes blinked from behind his brown frames, unamused. "Gee, I've never heard _that _before."

"And I never knew you were capable of sarcasm," Tina teased. She set her drink down and got up from her seat on the couch, coming over to ruffle Bryce's hair and kiss him so sweetly. He in turn put down the gadget in his hands and got to his feet, leaning his head against Tina's breast.

"Bryce," Tina murmured, and he raised his eyes to her face. "What?"

The words slipped out of her. "I was… well, I wanted to discuss something with you."

He blinked, and then pulled away from her. "Go ahead."

Tina went to the couch and motioned him over, and once they were both sitting down she clasped her hands, folded them over one knee, and began. "Bryce, I was visiting with a doctor at Ovu-Vat today."

"What?" Bryce said, a blank statement at first, and then he burst out with a firmer, "_What? _But I thought they were-"

"They're not out of business," Tina explained. She could forgive Bryce for not following that particular piece of news to its conclusion- he had been too sore at the time for being taken away from a prospective new job at Network 66.

Bryce's brow furrowed. "Weren't they stealing babies? What do you want with them?"

Tina sighed, and then gently reached out to take Bryce's hand. It was important that she had Bryce's full attention when she broached the subject. Gazing into his eyes, Tina murmured, "Bryce, I want to have a child."

Confusion immediately filled Bryce's eyes, and he broke off the mutual soul-staring, looking down at Tina's hand cradling his. He gave hers a squeeze before saying, "I get it. I won't have sex with you, so you wanted to have a Grobaby."

Now it was Tina's turn to blurt, "What?! Bryce, no…" Strange, but all she could feel at the moment was relief that she didn't have to explain pregnancy to Bryce. "They've discontinued the Baby Grobags project." _You should at least have heard about _that. "I went to see them because of their specialty in artsem, or artificial insemination."

"So…" Bryce glanced up at Tina again. "You were thinking of having one of your eggs fertilized, and you didn't tell me?"

He didn't sound disappointed or angry, only resigned. It sounded to Tina that Bryce was used to people not consulting him before making decisions, although why he would feel that way was a mystery, as the network executives always asked him for advice when something technological needed to be investigated. She patted his hand before taking hers away from it and reaching for the highball glass at her feet. On TV, a man with a tall hat was riding a horse through desert sands, and seemed to have just made it when bullets flew from out of nowhere, gunning him down dead. Deftly Tina reached for the remote control and switched the channel to Network 23 out of force of habit.

"I was going to tell you," she said, resuming the conversation. "It's a decision meant for two people, after all. I need to know if you're ready to be a father before going ahead with the procedure."

Turning to Bryce, Tina found the need to suddenly ask, "How much do you know about fertilization?"

Bryce shrugged, a familiar gesture. "I know as much as Theora told me. When a man's sperm combines with a woman's egg, it produces a baby. I suppose it can be done artificially via an operation, like many other things."

Tina nodded. "I want to have this done, and… and Bryce, I want you to be the father." Her confession surprised even herself, and she immediately wanted to cringe away from her own words. She hadn't breathed a word of this to Dr. Ryder… but it remained as true as it had on the day before when she had told Theora.

In that factual way of his, Bryce replied, "In theory it might work out. I know ACS kept DNA samples in their database-"

"They did what?" Tina interrupted in alarm.

Bryce waved the topic away with his hand. "It's nothing. We geniuses are valuable people, and they didn't want to take the risk of ever losing any of us, so they took samples of our DNA to figure out all the possible biological items we might need in case of emergency. Anyway, I can see how our DNA might be spliced together-" Seeing Tina's expression, the blood draining from her face, he put out a hand and gently patted her shoulder. "Don't look so frightened, it's exactly what they used to do at Ovu-Vat all the time. _Anyway, _the point is that while it can definitely, literally be done, my question is, am I ready to bring up a child?"

"That question can only be answered for yourself," Tina said softly. "Bryce, are you ready?"

He grinned bashfully. "Have you ever heard of a father at seventeen years old?"

Tina's heart sunk. "Oh, Bryce." She reached out and pulled him into an embrace, not unlike the one she had initiated on her failed wedding night. "If this is something you don't think you can handle, we don't have to-"

"I don't want to say no, Tina," Bryce said calmly. "It seems that having a child would make you happy, and I want you to be happy."

Tina pulled away from him. "But I don't want to force you into anything…"

"You won't be." With a meditative look in the eye, he resolutely took Tina's hand again, smiling a small smile. "It might be good to have a new experience. Let's get you pregnant."

Suddenly Tina felt like she was flying, soaring weightlessly through endless miles of clear blue skies. She grabbed Bryce's face and pulled him up to her, kissing him passionately and romantically.

"Yes," she whispered when they had both broken apart, gasping for air. "Let's get me pregnant."

And a week later she was pregnant, having had ACS send the DNA samples and Ovu-Vat follow up on her request.


	5. Chapter 5

During the early stages of her pregnancy, it was only the morning sickness that reminded Theora of the growing human inside her body. She had been forewarned about such sickness occurring, but it came as a great displeasure to learn that it didn't solely strike in the morning. Occasionally Theora would grow nauseous at work, and she would glare down at her stomach where the baby was located and think, _I'm sure I'll learn to love you, but now is _not _the time. _Murray was surprisingly very supportive and accommodating, however, and let Theora lie down in his office for five-minute periods whenever she felt sick or had a headache. She made sure not to waste any more time than that, for the investigation that Edison was working on was of the utmost important.

When Edison first met Simon Peller again, it looked as if there might still be bad blood between them. Theora couldn't help but remember how Peller had endorsed raking and supported the jailing of harmless Blanks, among other things. It was likely that Network 23 really could do much better than him for the next telelection, but it certainly wasn't uncommon for an already-familiar candidate to run a separate year.

Although Theora didn't approve of Peller's policies any more than Edison did, she hoped that he would refrain from alluding to them now that Peller's family had been thrown into a state of shock. And yet when Peller's stoic face first appeared on the screen of Theora's monitor, she heard Edison sourly comment, "So we meet again, and this time I'm supposed to be on your side."

"Edison, remember that you're not just 'supposed' to be on his side," Theora cautioned. "You _are."_

"What do you want, Carter?" Peller demanded, his forehead wrinkling in distaste. "I've already told the Metrocops everything I know. So have my sister and her husband."

"I want to know why the Order of the Hackers would choose to single out you specifically," Edison said, cutting right to the chase. "There are plenty of people in this city who are more qualified to know how to hack the mainframe. I'd bet even some of the Blanks are adept at it."

Peller shook his head. "That's not the matter at hand. What matters is my missing niece, and you're going to help find her."

"We'll get to that." Edison's voice turned steely, and Theora pictured his blue eyes glinting like stone as he stared at Peller. "I need you to tell me everything you know about the Order of the Hackers. _Now_."

For a moment the two had a stare-down, until Peller finally submitted and began to talk. Theora wasn't surprised that he had withered beneath Edison's firm gaze.

The Order of the Hackers, Peller explained, had first contacted him during his last year at Network 23 before the telelection. He had only ever spoken to one member, who wore a ghoulish black face mask to hide his identity and spoken in a low, gravelly voice. This member identified himself only as "Jay Byrd," which was bound to be a codename, and had requested Peller's assistance in contacting a famous Blank, Blank Bruno, through Network 23's head of technology, Bryce Lynch. Almost immediately the story seemed fishy to Theora- up until she and Edison had met him for the first time, Blank Bruno's whereabouts had been unknown to Bryce, and Peller's stance against Blanks was well-known. _If these hackers are as good as they think they are, _she thought, _they certainly wouldn't use such a roundabout way of getting information. _In fact, Edison had made a valid point when he stated that seeking out Theora was an easier way of getting control of the mainframe than blackmailing Peller was. She could hack it in her sleep. Then again, not every hacker was on Theora's level.

Jay had demanded that Peller use his status at Network 23 to get ahold of Bryce, who in turn would get ahold of Bruno, but Peller of course wanted nothing to do with it. Not only did he not trust the Order- here Edison muttered something under his breath that sounded like "at least you've got _some _morals"- but he also did not trust Blanks and refused to sanction the hookup. There had been no threats then- the Order hadn't contacted Peller again until this year, when Nicole Rains went missing. Then they had sent the handwritten message threatening her life, and now Peller and his family were forced into a nightmarish situation, staying at home under constant Metrocop surveillance.

"Do you have any idea what it's like, Carter?" Peller berated. "We're not allowed to use the viewphone, the computer, or eve to safely watch TV in case a member of the Order might hack it! You can't even imagine the stress we're going through."

"That may be," Edison said. "But I'll do my best to help you out." He spoke the words as if loathing the sound and taste of them, and Theora guessed that if Peller wasn't so distraught he would be gloating over getting Edison to work for him.

So far, what Peller knew about the Order of the Hackers was the only kind of lead they had to go on. Together Theora and Edison extrapolated from the information they had received. The Order of the Hackers had been around since at least the prior year, 2005, and were so underground that not even Rik, one of Edison's Fringer acquaintances who knew the lowdown on pretty much everything and everyone in the Fringes, had heard of them. Judging from their targeting Peller and not directly contacting someone more experienced, the group wasn't as good at their job as their name claimed, and were possibly very small assuming that they didn't have any specialize hackers among them who could get the job done. Theora theorized that they were amateurs, a copycat group who threatened people for fun, but their kidnapping of Nicole seemed out of line with such an idea.

The investigation was the most detective-like work that Edison's team had ever done, and while they managed to drum up support from their viewers Theora couldn't wait for it to all be over. The November deadline loomed in her head, and while it was urgent to find Nicole by then, Theora usually mentally skipped over the scenario and flashed forward to a time when she would be relaxing indoors with Edison, safe from the December chill outside, talking over Xmas presents and the future of their child together. She dreamed of taking maternity leave and of the next year when the baby would be born. She secretly wondered what to name him or her.

Fortune had smiled on her friend Tina as well. A week after Theora's pregnancy had been revealed and the investigation into Nicole Rains' kidnapping had begun, Tina caught hold of Theora after work and informed her, with a hint of pride and smugness, that she was pregnant by Bryce. The news greatly excited Theora, who threw her arms around Tina in delight. "How did you manage?" she murmured in her friend's ear, and Tina pulled back so that Theora could see the gleaming white smile on her face. "It was all the work of Ovu-Vat and ACS, thank God! I'm finally going to be a mother."

Since that day Theora occasionally accompanied Tina after work to pick up Bryce from his downstairs lab, and they discussed their pregnancies and plans for the future all the while. What little free time that Theora had, though, was mostly spent with Edison. She stopped coming over to his apartment, and let him do the work in visiting her. Often he would come right before dinner and they would share the meal, before retiring to bed. They had not engaged in sexual activity since the day Edison learned that Theora was pregnant, and it was partly because having sex with a pregnant woman felt odd to Edison, and partly because Theora had started getting tired more easily after work. Whether that was a result of being pregnant or just the hard work that she went through every day at Network 23, she couldn't say. Either way, it was extremely comforting to drift into sleep every night with Edison gently stroking her hair, listening to the _Max Talking Headroom Show _play music videos.

One day she went to have her first ultrasound done, at about six weeks into the pregnancy. Though Edison had work to do, and of course Theora did to, she persuaded him to come along with her- "just for a bit! It will only take a few minutes." At the medcen, a doctor congratulated her on her pregnancy before taking out the gel and asking Theora to partially remove her clothes. Soon she was looking at what looked like an X-ray of her uterus onscreen, and though she half-expected Edison to be disgusted he seemed fascinated by the sight and was unable to look away. The doctor listened for a heartbeat, and Theora held her breath before being told that it looked and sounded like the baby was developing entirely normally. After this he let Theora and Edison listen to the baby's heartbeat, and their faces exploded into matches smiles as they heard it. Edison couldn't stop himself from kissing Theora and whispering in her ear, "I am so proud of you."

On October 7th, Bryce celebrated his eighteenth birthday, and Tina racked her mind on what to give him as a present. Now was her chance to return the favor that Bryce had done in buying her wedding ring, and she had no idea what she could possibly give him that he didn't have or couldn't afford already.

Then the mischievous thought struck her one morning, when she had awoken to a churning stomach, and as she rinsed her mouth out she saw the strings falling into place. That afternoon Tina pulled Bryce from his work at Network 23- it was a Saturday, which meant that she didn't have to work, but Bryce certainly did- and drove him on her motorcycle down to a nice restaurant, where they had a luncheon and Tina presented Bryce with a wrapped box. Eagerly he tore off the shiny paper, only to find that there was just another piece of paper inside. Holding it up, Tina watched him read the words she had written that morning- THE BEST PRESENT I COULD CONCEIVE OF- YOUR CHILD.

"_Conceive," _Bryce groaned, but he was smiling when he hugged her. After lunch Tina took him out shopping at the video store, where she gave him the money he wanted to buy the missing piece in his collection of _He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. _This pleased Bryce so much that he didn't even have time to complain to Tina about how she shouldn't be riding her motorcycle during the return trip. (Though the lecture was unspoken, Tina took notes and started walking to work every day, while making plans to start saving up for a car for when she got too big to move.)

By the time November fell upon the world, both the members of Edison's team and the investigating Metrocops were sweating nervously. So far no more progress had been made on the case of Nicole Rains' disappearance. There had been several promising leads turned up during October, but all turned out to be false. Theora was exhausted as she sat down in her seat at the monitor that morning, just barely ready for another long day of searching. Normally she would have drunken coffee to rouse her and get her through the day, but she wasn't sure of the effects of caffeine on an unborn child.

As if a divine being had answered her prayers, Edison and Murray came in that day with matching sanguine expressions. Theora straightened herself up in her chair as they came towards her. "Good news?"

"Very," Murray said.

"We've been tipped off that the Order of the Hackers is having a meeting tonight, in London," Edison said. "The tipper knows the place and time. With luck, the London Metrocops will be persuaded to help me out on the story."

Instead of reacting joyfully as she supposed she was expected to, Theora frowned. "Who was the tipper?"

"An anonymous Blank from London," Murray replied.

"Yeah, or so the Metrocops said," Edison added. He drew up next to Theora and cupped her chin in one hand. "What's the matter? Theora, this could mean the end of our investigation!"

"I'm not sure," Theora murmured in response. Something about this didn't add up to her, although she couldn't figure out what. "How do you know this isn't just another false lead?"

"The Metrocops seemed pretty convinced," Murray said. "Although that's hardly an indicator…"

Theora moved away from Edison's grasp, looking down at the hard floor. Was it because the last time Edison had gone to London with a story, he had brought a dangerous criminal back with him?

"I'm sorry, but this doesn't sound right to me," she said. "Edison… will you please be careful?"

She looked up just in time to catch his well-meaning smirk. "What, you think I'm going to make this a repeat of the Alex Burgess story? This time, Theora, we know who's on our side, and who isn't." With ease, he shouldered his handheld camera and looked out at her through the eyes of the viewfinder. "I've got to be down at the station in half an hour. Will you establish the link to London's mainframe in that time?"

"All right," Theora said, though a part of her still felt unhappy. She wasn't sure why- Edison and the Metrocops had pursued other leads that didn't upset her at the time- and managed to push the emotion back to the deepest recessions of her brain. Standing up, she made sure Edison just barely had enough time to lower his camera before she planted a kiss on his lips. "I'll see you when you return."

"See you later," Edison said, smiling, and then turned around and made for the door. Sighing, Theora sat down in her chair, where she felt Murray move over behind her.

"Theora, how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," Theora said off-handedly. "Haven't been feeling sick as usual. I hope it's coming to an end."

"That's good news," Murray said. "It means you're entering the second trimester of your pregnancy. The baby's not in as much danger anymore."

Theora looked up at him in bemused gladness. "Where did you learn about that, Murray?"

His face remained impassive. "Don't forget, I had a wife and child once too." He sighed. "I should visit her sometime."

"Your daughter?" Theora asked.

Murray nodded, and then admonished her. "But who are you to inquire about my personal life?" He gave an awkward smile. "I'll be in my office if you need me." Theora smiled back as Murray departed, and then went to establish the satellite connection to London's mainframe. Once that was done, she leaned back in her seat and idly considered dozing.

Arguably, what happened next would not have happened had Theora had all her wits about her that day. If the long working hours had not tired her, she might have been sharper and more quick to realize what was going on. Still, as it was, nothing could be done.

The viewphone flickered to life, and Theora's resting eyes flew open to come face to face with her sister in law onscreen. "Theora?"

"Winnie! Hi!" Theora said, sitting bolt upright. "What do you-" Before she could finish her question, Winnie interrupted her, speaking in a distressed voice. "I need your help!" she squeaked. "Shawn is in trouble…"

The words sent a chill through Theora, and her heart thumped unevenly. She leaned forward towards the screen. "What kind of tr- Winnie!" The screen had gone black, and then the word DISCONNECTED appeared.

_Oh God. Oh God, oh God… _The last time Theora had gotten a call from Winnie about Shawn's welfare, she had rushed straight out of Network 23 to help her. This time would be a repeat. There was nothing like harm to her loved ones to get Theora away from her workstation. Abandoning her seat, Theora had just enough time to call the controller Don Ho over to take her place before she had fled out the door. All the while terrible thoughts pulsed around her brain. _What if he's been attacked by someone- what if he was taken away…_

Down in the parking garage, Theora headed in search of her vehicle, cursing her legs for not moving fast enough. She had just located the car and was almost at its side before a strong arm grabbed her and pulled her in the opposite direction.

Immediately Theora's first instinct was to scream, but just as she gathered breath for it the owner of the arm clamped another hand over her mouth. She had time to process that the assailant was wearing a black leather jacket and black gloves before he had dragged her off, away from the light where someone would notice the attack. Struggling hard, Theora nearly managed to break free from her human prison, but it was to no avail. The person dumped her on the ground and then pinned her so that she couldn't move.

"Miss Jones." The voice was cool, sinister, and above all deep and gravelly, and it was only when that fact registered, along with the fact that he was wearing a black face mask- along with the other two figures, garbed in black, that stood behind him, and along with the fact that one was carrying a videotape- that Theora realized she had been completely and utterly duped.

How could she have been so _stupid?_

Her assailant, who had to be the one and only Jay Byrd, leaned over her now and said in a calm tone, "You will now tell us all there is to know about hacking the mainframe."

Of course, Theora used her freedom of speech to shout at the top of her voice, "_HELP! _Someone help me! HELP-"

Which in turn caused Jay Byrd to slam his fist over her mouth, leaving her voiceless and shaking. "Idiot. You're not as good as they say you are. If you were, you'd help us out." His tone turned contemptuously sweet. "Don't you want to see that little girl's life spared?"

They gazed at each other for the longest time, facing off, before Jay murmured, "Not one more word unless it's one relevant to our interests." With that, he got to his feet and locked Theora in a stranglehold, leading her towards a car parked at the back of the garage. It was an inconspicuous car, Theora reflected, silver and modern and not out of place in the parking garage- and what was the license number-?

Just before she could move to see it, one of the Hackers had opened the backseat door. She tried in vain to look beyond the mask, to recognize any part of his face, before Jay Byrd threw her in the back and slammed the door.

He was also the first person in the car, climbing over the front seats until he was sitting up front but still facing Theora. She noticed in painfully vivid detail that the two seats up front were reclined, right before the two goons of Jay's sat down on them and slammed the door. They all faced the backseat, and Jay tapped his fist into his hand, each one of them waiting for Theora to speak up.

Theora resolutely clamped her jaw shut and didn't budge, sweat dripping down her forehead. She even managed to fold her arms across her chest.

It could have been a minute, possibly more, before Jay, obviously frustrated from the look of his body language, raised a hand and slapped Theora across the cheek, whipping her head to the side and eliciting a strangled gasp from her. Her hand flew to her cheek, rubbing the sore spot, as Jay rumbled, "Miss Jones, we're relying on the best to give us the information! Now talk!"

Her head spinning, Theora glanced out the window for one second- hadn't anyone upstairs realized she was missing by now?- and in that short amount of time, Jay hit her again, this time with his clenched fist. The pain was bad enough that Theora cried out, and then the goons descended on her like a pack of dogs. She was defenseless, unable to do anything but submit to the force of their powerful blows. Under the influence of pain, she couldn't even remember anything that had to do with the mainframe.

They only stopped beating her when a car drove by, and Theora was shoved down so that the driver could not see her, her mouth covered by someone's hand. As much as she wanted to, Theora wouldn't have been able to call for help. All that came from her mouth were whimpers expressing the pain she was in- and then a deep groan tore through her as the pain suddenly tripled, the superficial marks on her skin disappearing under the influence of some injury deep inside her…

"It's too risky," one of the goons said, and in a few moments Theora was dumped onto the cold asphalt of the parking garage, shivering and gasping and hurting all over. The Hackers drove off, leaving her to her fate.

Again she wanted to yell for help, and again she found herself unable to as a horrific spasm of pain washed through her body. In an instant she knew what it was. A trickle of a thick, moist liquid between her legs was suggestive of menstruation, but in reality Theora knew that something was terribly wrong with the child within. _Good God!_

And yet there was nothing to do but lie shriveled in the cold and wish desperately for someone, anyone, to find her and help her. She was beaten.


	6. Chapter 6

During the early stages of her pregnancy, it was only the morning sickness that reminded Theora of the growing human inside her body. She had been forewarned about such sickness occurring, but it came as a great displeasure to learn that it didn't solely strike in the morning. Occasionally Theora would grow nauseous at work, and she would glare down at her stomach where the baby was located and think, _I'm sure I'll learn to love you, but now is _not _the time. _Murray was surprisingly very supportive and accommodating, however, and let Theora lie down in his office for five-minute periods whenever she felt sick or had a headache. She made sure not to waste any more time than that, for the investigation that Edison was working on was of the utmost important.

When Edison first met Simon Peller again, it looked as if there might still be bad blood between them. Theora couldn't help but remember how Peller had endorsed raking and supported the jailing of harmless Blanks, among other things. It was likely that Network 23 really could do much better than him for the next telelection, but it certainly wasn't uncommon for an already-familiar candidate to run a separate year.

Although Theora didn't approve of Peller's policies any more than Edison did, she hoped that he would refrain from alluding to them now that Peller's family had been thrown into a state of shock. And yet when Peller's stoic face first appeared on the screen of Theora's monitor, she heard Edison sourly comment, "So we meet again, and this time I'm supposed to be on your side."

"Edison, remember that you're not just 'supposed' to be on his side," Theora cautioned. "You _are."_

"What do you want, Carter?" Peller demanded, his forehead wrinkling in distaste. "I've already told the Metrocops everything I know. So have my sister and her husband."

"I want to know why the Order of the Hackers would choose to single out you specifically," Edison said, cutting right to the chase. "There are plenty of people in this city who are more qualified to know how to hack the mainframe. I'd bet even some of the Blanks are adept at it."

Peller shook his head. "That's not the matter at hand. What matters is my missing niece, and you're going to help find her."

"We'll get to that." Edison's voice turned steely, and Theora pictured his blue eyes glinting like stone as he stared at Peller. "I need you to tell me everything you know about the Order of the Hackers. _Now_."

For a moment the two had a stare-down, until Peller finally submitted and began to talk. Theora wasn't surprised that he had withered beneath Edison's firm gaze.

The Order of the Hackers, Peller explained, had first contacted him during his last year at Network 23 before the telelection. He had only ever spoken to one member, who wore a ghoulish black face mask to hide his identity and spoken in a low, gravelly voice. This member identified himself only as "Jay Byrd," which was bound to be a codename, and had requested Peller's assistance in contacting a famous Blank, Blank Bruno, through Network 23's head of technology, Bryce Lynch. Almost immediately the story seemed fishy to Theora- up until she and Edison had met him for the first time, Blank Bruno's whereabouts had been unknown to Bryce, and Peller's stance against Blanks was well-known. _If these hackers are as good as they think they are, _she thought, _they certainly wouldn't use such a roundabout way of getting information. _In fact, Edison had made a valid point when he stated that seeking out Theora was an easier way of getting control of the mainframe than blackmailing Peller was. She could hack it in her sleep. Then again, not every hacker was on Theora's level.

Jay had demanded that Peller use his status at Network 23 to get ahold of Bryce, who in turn would get ahold of Bruno, but Peller of course wanted nothing to do with it. Not only did he not trust the Order- here Edison muttered something under his breath that sounded like "at least you've got _some _morals"- but he also did not trust Blanks and refused to sanction the hookup. There had been no threats then- the Order hadn't contacted Peller again until this year, when Nicole Rains went missing. Then they had sent the handwritten message threatening her life, and now Peller and his family were forced into a nightmarish situation, staying at home under constant Metrocop surveillance.

"Do you have any idea what it's like, Carter?" Peller berated. "We're not allowed to use the viewphone, the computer, or eve to safely watch TV in case a member of the Order might hack it! You can't even imagine the stress we're going through."

"That may be," Edison said. "But I'll do my best to help you out." He spoke the words as if loathing the sound and taste of them, and Theora guessed that if Peller wasn't so distraught he would be gloating over getting Edison to work for him.

So far, what Peller knew about the Order of the Hackers was the only kind of lead they had to go on. Together Theora and Edison extrapolated from the information they had received. The Order of the Hackers had been around since at least the prior year, 2005, and were so underground that not even Rik, one of Edison's Fringer acquaintances who knew the lowdown on pretty much everything and everyone in the Fringes, had heard of them. Judging from their targeting Peller and not directly contacting someone more experienced, the group wasn't as good at their job as their name claimed, and were possibly very small assuming that they didn't have any specialize hackers among them who could get the job done. Theora theorized that they were amateurs, a copycat group who threatened people for fun, but their kidnapping of Nicole seemed out of line with such an idea.

The investigation was the most detective-like work that Edison's team had ever done, and while they managed to drum up support from their viewers Theora couldn't wait for it to all be over. The November deadline loomed in her head, and while it was urgent to find Nicole by then, Theora usually mentally skipped over the scenario and flashed forward to a time when she would be relaxing indoors with Edison, safe from the December chill outside, talking over Xmas presents and the future of their child together. She dreamed of taking maternity leave and of the next year when the baby would be born. She secretly wondered what to name him or her.

Fortune had smiled on her friend Tina as well. A week after Theora's pregnancy had been revealed and the investigation into Nicole Rains' kidnapping had begun, Tina caught hold of Theora after work and informed her, with a hint of pride and smugness, that she was pregnant by Bryce. The news greatly excited Theora, who threw her arms around Tina in delight. "How did you manage?" she murmured in her friend's ear, and Tina pulled back so that Theora could see the gleaming white smile on her face. "It was all the work of Ovu-Vat and ACS, thank God! I'm finally going to be a mother."

Since that day Theora occasionally accompanied Tina after work to pick up Bryce from his downstairs lab, and they discussed their pregnancies and plans for the future all the while. What little free time that Theora had, though, was mostly spent with Edison. She stopped coming over to his apartment, and let him do the work in visiting her. Often he would come right before dinner and they would share the meal, before retiring to bed. They had not engaged in sexual activity since the day Edison learned that Theora was pregnant, and it was partly because having sex with a pregnant woman felt odd to Edison, and partly because Theora had started getting tired more easily after work. Whether that was a result of being pregnant or just the hard work that she went through every day at Network 23, she couldn't say. Either way, it was extremely comforting to drift into sleep every night with Edison gently stroking her hair, listening to the _Max Talking Headroom Show _play music videos.

One day she went to have her first ultrasound done, at about six weeks into the pregnancy. Though Edison had work to do, and of course Theora did to, she persuaded him to come along with her- "just for a bit! It will only take a few minutes." At the medcen, a doctor congratulated her on her pregnancy before taking out the gel and asking Theora to partially remove her clothes. Soon she was looking at what looked like an X-ray of her uterus onscreen, and though she half-expected Edison to be disgusted he seemed fascinated by the sight and was unable to look away. The doctor listened for a heartbeat, and Theora held her breath before being told that it looked and sounded like the baby was developing entirely normally. After this he let Theora and Edison listen to the baby's heartbeat, and their faces exploded into matches smiles as they heard it. Edison couldn't stop himself from kissing Theora and whispering in her ear, "I am so proud of you."

On October 7th, Bryce celebrated his eighteenth birthday, and Tina racked her mind on what to give him as a present. Now was her chance to return the favor that Bryce had done in buying her wedding ring, and she had no idea what she could possibly give him that he didn't have or couldn't afford already.

Then the mischievous thought struck her one morning, when she had awoken to a churning stomach, and as she rinsed her mouth out she saw the strings falling into place. That afternoon Tina pulled Bryce from his work at Network 23- it was a Saturday, which meant that she didn't have to work, but Bryce certainly did- and drove him on her motorcycle down to a nice restaurant, where they had a luncheon and Tina presented Bryce with a wrapped box. Eagerly he tore off the shiny paper, only to find that there was just another piece of paper inside. Holding it up, Tina watched him read the words she had written that morning- THE BEST PRESENT I COULD CONCEIVE OF- YOUR CHILD.

"_Conceive," _Bryce groaned, but he was smiling when he hugged her. After lunch Tina took him out shopping at the video store, where she gave him the money he wanted to buy the missing piece in his collection of _He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. _This pleased Bryce so much that he didn't even have time to complain to Tina about how she shouldn't be riding her motorcycle during the return trip. (Though the lecture was unspoken, Tina took notes and started walking to work every day, while making plans to start saving up for a car for when she got too big to move.)

By the time November fell upon the world, both the members of Edison's team and the investigating Metrocops were sweating nervously. So far no more progress had been made on the case of Nicole Rains' disappearance. There had been several promising leads turned up during October, but all turned out to be false. Theora was exhausted as she sat down in her seat at the monitor that morning, just barely ready for another long day of searching. Normally she would have drunken coffee to rouse her and get her through the day, but she wasn't sure of the effects of caffeine on an unborn child.

As if a divine being had answered her prayers, Edison and Murray came in that day with matching sanguine expressions. Theora straightened herself up in her chair as they came towards her. "Good news?"

"Very," Murray said.

"We've been tipped off that the Order of the Hackers is having a meeting tonight, in London," Edison said. "The tipper knows the place and time. With luck, the London Metrocops will be persuaded to help me out on the story."

Instead of reacting joyfully as she supposed she was expected to, Theora frowned. "Who was the tipper?"

"An anonymous Blank from London," Murray replied.

"Yeah, or so the Metrocops said," Edison added. He drew up next to Theora and cupped her chin in one hand. "What's the matter? Theora, this could mean the end of our investigation!"

"I'm not sure," Theora murmured in response. Something about this didn't add up to her, although she couldn't figure out what. "How do you know this isn't just another false lead?"

"The Metrocops seemed pretty convinced," Murray said. "Although that's hardly an indicator…"

Theora moved away from Edison's grasp, looking down at the hard floor. Was it because the last time Edison had gone to London with a story, he had brought a dangerous criminal back with him?

"I'm sorry, but this doesn't sound right to me," she said. "Edison… will you please be careful?"

She looked up just in time to catch his well-meaning smirk. "What, you think I'm going to make this a repeat of the Alex Burgess story? This time, Theora, we know who's on our side, and who isn't." With ease, he shouldered his handheld camera and looked out at her through the eyes of the viewfinder. "I've got to be down at the station in half an hour. Will you establish the link to London's mainframe in that time?"

"All right," Theora said, though a part of her still felt unhappy. She wasn't sure why- Edison and the Metrocops had pursued other leads that didn't upset her at the time- and managed to push the emotion back to the deepest recessions of her brain. Standing up, she made sure Edison just barely had enough time to lower his camera before she planted a kiss on his lips. "I'll see you when you return."

"See you later," Edison said, smiling, and then turned around and made for the door. Sighing, Theora sat down in her chair, where she felt Murray move over behind her.

"Theora, how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," Theora said off-handedly. "Haven't been feeling sick as usual. I hope it's coming to an end."

"That's good news," Murray said. "It means you're entering the second trimester of your pregnancy. The baby's not in as much danger anymore."

Theora looked up at him in bemused gladness. "Where did you learn about that, Murray?"

His face remained impassive. "Don't forget, I had a wife and child once too." He sighed. "I should visit her sometime."

"Your daughter?" Theora asked.

Murray nodded, and then admonished her. "But who are you to inquire about my personal life?" He gave an awkward smile. "I'll be in my office if you need me." Theora smiled back as Murray departed, and then went to establish the satellite connection to London's mainframe. Once that was done, she leaned back in her seat and idly considered dozing.

Arguably, what happened next would not have happened had Theora had all her wits about her that day. If the long working hours had not tired her, she might have been sharper and more quick to realize what was going on. Still, as it was, nothing could be done.

The viewphone flickered to life, and Theora's resting eyes flew open to come face to face with her sister in law onscreen. "Theora?"

"Winnie! Hi!" Theora said, sitting bolt upright. "What do you-" Before she could finish her question, Winnie interrupted her, speaking in a distressed voice. "I need your help!" she squeaked. "Shawn is in trouble…"

The words sent a chill through Theora, and her heart thumped unevenly. She leaned forward towards the screen. "What kind of tr- Winnie!" The screen had gone black, and then the word DISCONNECTED appeared.

_Oh God. Oh God, oh God… _The last time Theora had gotten a call from Winnie about Shawn's welfare, she had rushed straight out of Network 23 to help her. This time would be a repeat. There was nothing like harm to her loved ones to get Theora away from her workstation. Abandoning her seat, Theora had just enough time to call the controller Don Ho over to take her place before she had fled out the door. All the while terrible thoughts pulsed around her brain. _What if he's been attacked by someone- what if he was taken away…_

Down in the parking garage, Theora headed in search of her vehicle, cursing her legs for not moving fast enough. She had just located the car and was almost at its side before a strong arm grabbed her and pulled her in the opposite direction.

Immediately Theora's first instinct was to scream, but just as she gathered breath for it the owner of the arm clamped another hand over her mouth. She had time to process that the assailant was wearing a black leather jacket and black gloves before he had dragged her off, away from the light where someone would notice the attack. Struggling hard, Theora nearly managed to break free from her human prison, but it was to no avail. The person dumped her on the ground and then pinned her so that she couldn't move.

"Miss Jones." The voice was cool, sinister, and above all deep and gravelly, and it was only when that fact registered, along with the fact that he was wearing a black face mask- along with the other two figures, garbed in black, that stood behind him, and along with the fact that one was carrying a videotape- that Theora realized she had been completely and utterly duped.

How could she have been so _stupid?_

Her assailant, who had to be the one and only Jay Byrd, leaned over her now and said in a calm tone, "You will now tell us all there is to know about hacking the mainframe."

Of course, Theora used her freedom of speech to shout at the top of her voice, "_HELP! _Someone help me! HELP-"

Which in turn caused Jay Byrd to slam his fist over her mouth, leaving her voiceless and shaking. "Idiot. You're not as good as they say you are. If you were, you'd help us out." His tone turned contemptuously sweet. "Don't you want to see that little girl's life spared?"

They gazed at each other for the longest time, facing off, before Jay murmured, "Not one more word unless it's one relevant to our interests." With that, he got to his feet and locked Theora in a stranglehold, leading her towards a car parked at the back of the garage. It was an inconspicuous car, Theora reflected, silver and modern and not out of place in the parking garage- and what was the license number-?

Just before she could move to see it, one of the Hackers had opened the backseat door. She tried in vain to look beyond the mask, to recognize any part of his face, before Jay Byrd threw her in the back and slammed the door.

He was also the first person in the car, climbing over the front seats until he was sitting up front but still facing Theora. She noticed in painfully vivid detail that the two seats up front were reclined, right before the two goons of Jay's sat down on them and slammed the door. They all faced the backseat, and Jay tapped his fist into his hand, each one of them waiting for Theora to speak up.

Theora resolutely clamped her jaw shut and didn't budge, sweat dripping down her forehead. She even managed to fold her arms across her chest.

It could have been a minute, possibly more, before Jay, obviously frustrated from the look of his body language, raised a hand and slapped Theora across the cheek, whipping her head to the side and eliciting a strangled gasp from her. Her hand flew to her cheek, rubbing the sore spot, as Jay rumbled, "Miss Jones, we're relying on the best to give us the information! Now talk!"

Her head spinning, Theora glanced out the window for one second- hadn't anyone upstairs realized she was missing by now?- and in that short amount of time, Jay hit her again, this time with his clenched fist. The pain was bad enough that Theora cried out, and then the goons descended on her like a pack of dogs. She was defenseless, unable to do anything but submit to the force of their powerful blows. Under the influence of pain, she couldn't even remember anything that had to do with the mainframe.

They only stopped beating her when a car drove by, and Theora was shoved down so that the driver could not see her, her mouth covered by someone's hand. As much as she wanted to, Theora wouldn't have been able to call for help. All that came from her mouth were whimpers expressing the pain she was in- and then a deep groan tore through her as the pain suddenly tripled, the superficial marks on her skin disappearing under the influence of some injury deep inside her…

"It's too risky," one of the goons said, and in a few moments Theora was dumped onto the cold asphalt of the parking garage, shivering and gasping and hurting all over. The Hackers drove off, leaving her to her fate.

Again she wanted to yell for help, and again she found herself unable to as a horrific spasm of pain washed through her body. In an instant she knew what it was. A trickle of a thick, moist liquid between her legs was suggestive of menstruation, but in reality Theora knew that something was terribly wrong with the child within. _Good God!_

And yet there was nothing to do but lie shriveled in the cold and wish desperately for someone, anyone, to find her and help her. She was beaten.


	7. Chapter 7

Edison was halfway to London on the Mag-Lev when he received the news. A Metrocop escorted him to the nearest viewphone, where Murray was speaking hurriedly. "Edison! You have to get off the train, there's been an accident-"

"And ruin my chance at finding Nicole?" Edison cut in, to which Murray sighed heavily through his teeth. "Edison, Theora is in the hospital."

In that moment it felt to Edison as if the floor had dropped from beneath his feet and he was spinning all alone through the air. He drew breath and then whispered a word that still managed to have force behind it. _"What?"_

An hour later he was rushing through the hallways of the hospital, ignoring the nurses and doctors that tried to turn him away, until he had broken into the room where Theora lay, weakened in bed.

Edison's entrance was all that had roused Theora from her thoughts upon being found by a network employee and rushed to the hospital. She was treated mechanically, her cuts rubbed with antiseptic and patched up with bandages and stitches, and her bruises anointed. Her body was scanned for internal damage, with Theora submitted to without raising any protest. Once she was through with the X-rays, she was taken to a room where she sat all alone, lost within herself. Her doctor and nurse were conversing outside the door and she caught the words "miscarriage" and "shock." Then Theora retreated into the depths of herself and did not surface until Edison burst into the room.

He stared at her, and she stared back at him, and in his eyes she saw the plain shock that the nurse had described her as having. His lips parted smoothly, but no words came out. It seemed he had lost control of his motor skills.

"I was attacked," she whispered; to speak any louder would feel like shouting. "The Order… they lured me down, and…"

Finally Edison managed to get a question out. "The baby?"

The words sent a chill through Theora, starting in her stomach and permeating to every part of her. She dropped her hand to her stomach. "They tried to save it, but…"

It was too much for her to go on, and so she didn't, and returned to staring at Edison's eyes. Slowly, he unfroze and took a step towards her, and then another. In a series of footsteps he approached, and Theora was hardly aware of it until her arms were around him and she heard his sobs. Then she broke down and cried too, the numbness draining away. And so they remained for some time locked in embrace, the two parents whose child had died before even leaving the womb.

There had been so much blood, Theora remembered, and it was entirely unnatural and she had begged to the doctors to stop it but they couldn't, and her baby, just barely a fetus, had been swept away…

It was a wonder that her hands weren't stained now. She remembered being washed off, but if she thought hard about it she could still smell the horrible tang on her skin…

Edison's arms had always provided Theora with great comfort, but now he was just as upset as she was. They held each other and wept until they were both empty. Theora couldn't speak for Edison, but when she finally let go of him she felt devoid of all emotion, as if someone could step in and ask to kill her and she wouldn't care one way or the other how it would go. In her reflection in Edison's eyes, she looked like a ghost already.

It was sheer madness to return to work after that, but somehow Theora did, if only to pick up her car. As soon as she got to the parking garage, however, a shiver went up her spine. Memories of the attack flashed through her head at a rapid pace, and if it hadn't been for Murray clutching onto her arm she would have run away as quickly as she could in the other direction. Murray gently asked for the keys, and he drove her car out to the front of the parking garage and then took her home, neither of them speaking until Theora stepped out of the car.

"I've requested that both you and Edison take some time off of work," he said. "Call me when you feel you're ready to come back."

Theora stood stock still and asked without feeling, "But what about Peller's niece?"

"We'll handle it," Murray said, and Theora could see in his eyes that he wasn't prepared for the strain of the upcoming week, but there was nothing he could do. "Please take care of yourself, Theora. I trust that you know best."

Theora bid him farewell and trudged all the way up the stairs to her apartment, forgoing the more convenient elevator. By the time she was inside, she hit her bed like a rock and immediately relished in the oncoming unconsciousness, which broke over her unbidden, but very much welcome.

The hardest part, Theora would reflect later, was calling Winnie and Shawn to tell them. Word had gotten out that she had been in the hospital, and Shawn had already left a message on the viewphone the night before, asking if Theora was all right. When she faced them the next day with dulled eyes and rumpled hair, her answer to that question was apparent. It grew worse as the words stumbled out of her mouth, blank, empty words that served to conjure up the hole she felt inside her. Naturally, both Shawn and Winnie were shocked, and offered their condolences and asked if they could come over, but nothing they said felt right to Theora. She told them that she wanted to be alone and then lay in bed for the rest of the day, only getting up when her stomach rumbled with hunger.

Over the course of the week she was contacted on the viewphone by Murray, mindlessly updating her on the investigation and always ending each message with, "I hope you're feeling better." Theora never picked up on the other end, even though she could, and lay in a fetal position, her back facing the viewphone. Dimly she reasoned that she had to figure out a coping technique, but her emotions told her to wallow and tread the deepest depths of her pain. One question kept circling around her head- _whose fault was it? _Edison's, for leaving at the worst possible time? Winnie and Shawn's, for having a viewphone that was easy to record from and hack into in order for the Hackers to cobble together footage that would trick Theora's belief? One answer, however, overruled them all. It was her own damn fault, not only for falling for the false footage, but for deciding to bring the pregnancy to term in the first place. What could have possibly convinced her that it would be _fun _to have a child?

Only once did Theora feel anything other than guilt or grief or comfortable numbness over the course of her week off of work. That was when Tina Lynch called her on the viewphone. Although Theora didn't pick up the receiver, she watched Tina talk on the other end of the line, running her mouth about how sorry she was and if she could come over to help Theora out, and disgust boiled in the pit of her stomach. How dare Tina talk as if she understood what Theora was going through? _She _still had her baby. _She _still had that goddamn glow of pregnancy about her, _she _who was married and still a virgin and who hadn't even had to work to get pregnant… _She _who had wanted it in the first place.

Violently, Theora sat up in bed, and angrily reached out for the viewphone, shoving against it with all her might. The device didn't fall over, but Tina's message did end, and Theora was left staring down at her hands and remembering in excruciating detail all the blood that had been on them that day.

Edison didn't call or visit once, and Theora was grateful. She didn't want to drag him into the depths of her depression. It was only at the very end of the week, on Sunday, that a knock came at the door.

Theora was sitting at her table, mindlessly plowing through a dinner of boiled noodles when she heard that knock, and immediately opened the door without even checking to see who was calling on her. To her absolute lack of surprise, Edison Carter stood in front of her, his face as unreadable as always.

"Mind if I come in?" he said quietly.

Theora nodded and silently beckoned him forward. He shut the door behind him and hung up his coat on the doorknob, and then came over to Theora, taking her into his arms.

"I miss you." He murmured the words as if in the midst of a sleepy dream. "I'm so sorry for what you've been through…"

Theora spoke for the first time in days, and her voice came out sounding odd as a result. "No, you're not." She cleared her throat and swallowed while Edison stared.

"I'm not? Theora, of course I'm sorry that-"

"You're not." She ripped herself from his arms, went over to the table, and dumped the dish of noodles into the sink. Turning around, she met Edison's incredulous stare. "You have no idea what I've been through."

Edison didn't say a word as Theora walked over to her bed and lay down, and then he came tentatively forward, sitting down on the bed beside her. Theora hated him for it- _why can't he just leave me alone? _At that very moment, she did something she had never done and wished him dead.

"But I do know, Theora," Edison's voice said behind her back. She trembled a little, trying to remain firm. "It's been just as bad for me, let me tell you. When I saw you in… in the hospital-"

"STOP!" Theora shouted, twisting around in bed so that she was gazing at Edison with the full force of her smoldering eyes. "You have no right to say those things to me! It's not the same for you at all. You weren't led to believe that your brother was dying- you weren't beaten up for information- you never even had a child inside you…"

On the last accusation, Theora's voice cracked, and she covered her face with her hands, weeping bitterly. Edison lifted her into his arms, and though she was still mad at him she reveled in the contact.

"Theora," he whispered when she was spent, still shaking from the emotional outburst. "I love you."

Theora stared at him, and suddenly realized it was all he could say. Edison couldn't pretend to understand what she was feeling and thinking, and she couldn't do the same for him. The one emotion that they mutually shared to the same strength and power was the emotion of love. And that's all Edison could do for Theora in her time of stress. He could only offer love for her to fall back on, love that he hoped could heal her. Love that he desperately wished would make her a whole person again.

Love could not mend all wounds. Only time could do that. But love still had a uniting power, stronger than any glue.

Quickly, as if the opportunity would slip away if she didn't, Theora stretched forward and kissed Edison on the lips. They opened their mouths and their souls to each other, and Theora dragged Edison down to her level on the bed. The kiss transformed into another, and another, and each one felt different from the first. They were seconds away from surrendering physically to each other before Theora broke away with a warning.

"I can't do it, Edison. I'm not entirely recovered yet. And… it's just…"

She didn't finish her sentence, because Edison pressed his lips to hers again, and they held onto each other as if their lives depended on it. Then Edison sat up and rolled off the bed, pausing only to kiss Theora on the forehead before departing.

"Take your time," he said as he walked out the door. "But don't give up on us. Network 23 needs you."

He left, and Theora pondered his words until it was dark.


	8. Chapter 8

That night Theora dreamed she was sinking, slipping slowly beneath a dark, stifling wave. The situation was reminiscent of drowning, except that Theora had never felt more peaceful in her life. She was breathing in and out, sucking the black water down into her lungs, and saw with half-open eyes that the surface sparkled with a deep shade of burgundy. Was it the sweetest taste of wine, or the bitter, pungent blood that she was breathing in? Did it matter? An incredible lassitude had taken hold of Theora's limbs, and she was about to close her eyes and surrender forever, before she felt her body begin to buoy upwards. Looking down, her hair waving about her head in a liquid mass, Theora realized that a platform of light was stealthily and silently carrying her up from the bottom of the sea. Her head began spinning, and to keep calm she clamped her eyes shut and counted in her head, her breast beginning to swell with anxiety and want of air. _One hundred… ninety-nine… ninety-eight… ninety-seven…_

Theora came to sitting straight upright in her bed, gasping for the pure air. Frantically she glanced at the nearest device that told time, and was somewhat perplexed to learn that she had woken up at the exact time that she normally would have roused to go to work.

Slowly, muddled words and sensations from the night before filtered into her head. Edison had been over… For the first time, he had stated that he loved her. They had been kissing. But something had felt wrong to Theora, something that nagged at her even as she drifted into tortured sleep.

Now, in the morning's clarity, Theora realized exactly why Edison's words of romance had been inadequate to heal her. She hadn't wanted to hear that he loved her- although it was a warm, deep regard that meant a lot to Edison, it had no bearing on her current personal situation. Such feelings did not help her feel any better about the loss of her child. It was just one person's opinion of her, nothing more. Those three words were tossed around enough for Theora to be slightly, cynically wary of them.

Although Edison had meant well, probably intending to comfort Theora by offering his romantic view on her, Theora wished that he had presented something more useful. Something like "_I don't fully understand what you're going through, but if you want I'll be here to talk with you about it. I'll listen to anything you have to say." _The words were so startlingly perfect, springing from her mind fully-formed, that Theora couldn't be sure she hadn't heard someone say them before. Or had this always been her subconscious idea of verbal comfort?

Vaguely she wondered if this meant her relationship with Edison was over.

After a few more moments of musing, Theora rose from her bed, a surprising action for these recent days. She traveled over to the bathroom and, for the first time in days, stared at herself in the mirror. What she saw sent a deep knife cutting through the haze in her brain. What a displeasing reflection! The Theora that stared back from the mirror had messy, tangled hair falling down her shoulders, as if it hadn't been brushed for a week. Her eyes were reddened and her clothes were rumpled. All in all, Theora looked disheveled, so far from the usual control that she exhibited in both her life and her career.

A feeling stirred in her, and Theora felt compelled to turn the shower on and get into the warm water. Later she felt compelled to dress in new clothing and shove the old outfit into a bag to take to the public laundry. And after that she was compelled to eat breakfast and then head out the door, unsure of where she was going but knowing one thing- Edison had, at least, said the right thing when he told her that Network 23 needed her. She couldn't let her personal tragedy overshadow the importance of her job.

Outside, Theora got into her car and drove. No clear destination settled in her mind; it was just a calming action that didn't require much thinking. The thought of Network 23 flitted through her mind, and so Theora set her sights for there, but as soon as she'd gotten to the exterior of the parking garage an overwhelming urge to turn and head in the other direction overpowered her. This… this was the place… Memories rushed violently at her, tearing her skin. This was the place of her attack. This was the place her child had died.

Reliving the incident, Theora could see everything happen on the movie screen that was her eyelids. She saw the Hackers leer at her from behind invincible masks. She felt the pressure of Jay Byrd's arm around her waist, locking her into a vice grip… and she heard his rough, deep voice. _"We're relying on the best to give us the information! Now talk!"_

And Theora came to herself to find that she was clutching the car's steering wheel in a vice grip all of her own, her teeth clenched and each labored breath a pain to get out. Viciously, she spun the wheel and turned around, hightailing it out of there as quickly as she could. She knew exactly where she needed to go to tell her story.

The nearest Metropolice station was only minutes away, and Theora felt profound relief swell over her as she pulled into the parking lot outside. Getting out, she wasted no time in entering the building and then demanding that one of the Metrocops working on the Nicole Rains case come out to meet her immediately. "I want to set up an interview," she told the receptionist, her eyes burning hard.

The Metrocop came. Without an intimidating helmet on, he was far more approachable than any of the Metrocops one would see on the streets, and spoke to Theora calmly. He led her into a back room, where he was joined by another officer, and then the two asked Theora to sit down and tell her story. With slight trepidation, she did and sat on her hands to keep them from shaking.

"My name is Theora Jones," she said. "I'm sure you know that. I was the one injured in Network 23's parking garage when the Order of the Hackers decided to rely on me to get the information they want. I hope that my story will be helpful." She took a deep breath.

The Metrocops began grilling her at once- how many people had there been, how did they lure her down into the parking garage, what exactly they had done to her, what exactly they had said… Theora answered to the best of her ability, but none of the answers were particularly helpful on the surface. The men had been expertly disguised, even though Theora remembered their exact builds and tentative heights, and though she could name the make of the car down to the year she couldn't give a license number. "They probably disposed of it later, anyway," she said, feeling a cold shiver run up her spine.

'Thank you for your time, Miss Jones," the officer who had met her outside told her. "I'm sorry about your injuries."

Theora brushed the hair back from her face, wanting to tell them to call her _Ms. _Jones but unable to find the words. "You're welcome," she said, and then- "I have a hunch about these Hackers."

When she didn't go on, the Metrocops had to prod her with "Yes?," and Theora elaborated. "I don't think they're as large an organization as we thought. The fact that out of the three men that were sent to get information from me, one of them was the group's leader seems to me to be proof of that. Why would they risk their leader's life by sending him out to do dirty work?"

The Metrocops stared. Theora went on, voicing all the suspicions that she had had about the Hackers, every little thing that to her didn't add up. "Furthermore, I've never been able to swallow that their motive is to hack the mainframe. It's beside the point that Simon Peller is not an expert on hacking- what I don't understand is how they could find a way to tape messages off of my brother's viewphone and assemble the messages in a way that looks legitimate, then broadcast it to me, yet claim not to know how to access the mainframe. How did they even know that Shawn was my brother? There's something that somebody's not telling us."

Once again, the Metrocops exchanged glances with each other, and then the first officer said, "Thank you again for your time, Miss Jones. We'll be sure to process this information accordingly."

"It's _Ms. _Jones," Theora replied, rising to her feet. "And I'm glad to have been of service." The words were acrid scorn that burned her mouth as she spoke them and left a trail of smoke in her wake as she walked out the door.

Now on her own again, Theora found that there was nothing in her heart for her to do but to return at last to Network 23. The thought made her heart ache. There was nothing she wanted more than to plunge headfirst into her work and possibly uncover the Order of the Hackers once and for all, but imagining the way her peers and co-workers would look at her filled her with apprehension. She didn't want the sympathy of anyone, especially people who couldn't understand what she had been through and could only stare pityingly in her direction.

But as Edison had said the night before, Network 23 needed her. Only Theora could restore order to the search for not only the kidnappers of Nicole Rains, but the murderers of her own child.

Instead of using the parking garage, Theora parked a block away from Network 23's skyscraper and walked the rest of the way. Her heart thudded nervously with every step, and the closing of the elevator doors behind her did nothing to stop it. God, what if she saw Tina looking at her with puppy-dog eyes? Tina had nothing to feel upset about. If anything, she should be rejoicing that it was Theora and not herself who had miscarried.

With a _whoosh, _the elevator doors slid open, and Theora walked out into the hallway. Her high heels clicked against the floor as she ever-so-slowly approached the control room where she worked. _What are they going to say, what are they going to do…_

She entered.

It was even worse than she had imagined. At first the initial step into the room didn't raise any attention, but as Theora came further into the room she heard the voices of reporters and controllers alike die one by one. They were all staring at her, at it wasn't even with the sympathy that she had so dreaded, but instead with open surprise. _What, did they expect me to never return to my job?!_

The hush that had fallen over the room made Theora so uncomfortable that she stopped dead in the middle of her walk, seeking out the only two people that mattered to her at the moment. They were the only people she wouldn't have to explain herself to.

Finally Edison appeared from behind the monitor where Theora usually sat, and a look of shock crossed his face. He bounded towards her, with Murray emerging from the shadows nearby. "Theora!"

"Edison?" Theora murmured, but it was all she had time to say before Edison swept her up into an embrace that was a little too tight to be pleasant. "Oh, Theora," he sighed, and Theora was surprised to hear a tinge of horror in his voice, as if he had been expecting to come across something terrible and was now graciously relieved. "I'm so glad you're okay…"

"I'm not okay, Edison," Theora responded automatically, pushing herself out of his arms. Edison blinked, and his brow furrowed, before a look of understanding descended upon his face. He reached up as if about to smooth back Theora's hair, but he thought the better of it and let his hand drop. "Oh, Theora, I didn't mean about that. It's just…" He sighed. "You weren't in your apartment this morning when I called, and…"

"Oh," Theora mumbled in response, suddenly realizing that she could very well have scared Edison to death. That explained the surprised looks in the eyes of her co-workers as she walked in- they must have been too surprised that she had decided to come into work to give her sympathetic gazes. In a twisted sort of way, Theora rather enjoyed the fact.

"So where were you?" Edison asked, turning and heading over to the monitor. Theora wondered why, as she followed him, he was taking the conversation away from the middle of the room, before she realized that he was mindful to her dislike of pity and wanted to make her feel more comfortable, as well as for privacy's sake. The thought would have made her smile if it were possible. Murray, once he had seen that Theora was all right, stepped out of the way to give Edison some time to speak with her alone.

"I was at the police station," Theora replied, and then stopped in front of her terminal, reaching out to touch Edison's wrist loosely. "Have you… have you been working recently?"

Edison, his blue eyes carefully guarded, nodded his head in response. "I was out for a day, but I came in for the rest of the week. It just wasn't the same without you, though." Once again an expression crossed his face that suggested he would have loved to touch Theora, but he refrained from doing so. "What were you talking to the Metrocops for?"

Instead of answering, Theora brushed Edison aside and went over to Murray. Ever since she had left the Metropolice station, one last fact that could reveal the Order of the Hackers had been bouncing around in her brain, and she needed Murray to confirm it for her. As she touched his shoulder, he stared at her, surprised. "Theora-"

"I need to know something, Murray," Theora said, speaking rapidly. She licked her lips. "Where did those tips you got come from? I'm especially curious about the last one you got that suggested Edison should go to London."

If Murray had looked mildly surprised at Theora's presence before, he was now flat-out baffled. "Why, Theora… The tips were anonymous and were sent via handwritten messages." He gestured to his office door. "The messages were sent directly to the front desk of the Metropolice station. According to a handwriting analysis, all were from the same person."

Suddenly Theora felt her blood run cold. She looked up and gazed fearfully at her surroundings, cataloguing every computer terminal and every desk and each and every TV. The messages had been _sent to the police station. _They had been hidden in plain sight! No space was safe-

"Did your handwriting analyst also check to make sure the handwriting wasn't the same as Jay Byrd's?" Theora said calmly. A second later she had to stop herself from cringing as the name brought back memories of his hidden face and harsh, demanding voice.

Murray understood immediately, and worriedly shook his head. "There was no resemblance to Jay's."

Theora gave a crisp nod and then traveled over to her monitor, once again pushing Edison aside. Just brushing the typewriter keys brought a wave of relief crashing over her. This was her sanctuary. This was where she belonged.

Then a hand clapped against her shoulder, and she reclined, snapping her head up to look at who was touching her without permission. Edison stood above her, anxiety flickering through his unperturbed façade.

"Theora, you've been through a lot recently, and… I'm just saying, it might not be a good idea to start working immediately-"

"No," Theora murmured, her voice sounding abnormally loud. "Trust me, Edison. I think we're at the crucial point of discovery." She turned back to her monitor, thankful for its inhumanity, its inability to respond to what she had to say. Computers couldn't think; they could only give up the true answer, regardless of right and wrong and emotions and feelings. They only knew the right thing to say because they had been programmed to say it. To hell with Edison and anyone else who was insufficient.

Once the monitor was awake, Theora accessed the city's database with the greatest of ease. She ignored the sound of shuffling behind her as Edison and Murray moved into place to watch her work. They were loath to disturb her now more than ever. Carefully, Theora typed in the name JOHN RIVERS and clicked on the first result to appear, knowing full-well what she would get. A flash of red-letter words appeared:

RESTRICTED

_This page is locked due to considerations of public safety. Thank you._

"Well," Theora said, and turned around to meet the blank and befuddled faces of her working team. Murray was the first to speak. "Well, what?"

"It's official," Theora said. "As we all know, our present attorney general's page in the database is restricted from even the best hackers, in order to protect him."

"So?" Edison said, a hint of irritation showing through his voice. "We all knew that-" His voice faded and died as he remembered who he was talking to.

She brushed his annoyance aside. "So, what we didn't know was what the Order of the Hackers wanted with Peller. This proves that he's withholding information from us." She pointed at the bright RESTRICTED screen, willing her team to believe her. "Don't you see? They already know how to hack the mainframe. They just needed access to our leader's file- and of course at the time Peller was attorney general." Seeing how Murray and Edison were still confused, Theora continued briskly, "Go down and ask Peller and see if he doesn't admit anything!"

"I don't understand," Murray spoke slowly. "What are you accusing Peller of?"

"It might sound far-fetched, but I _know _that the story Peller told us was not all that happened," Theora said, trying her best to get her team to believe her. "He was working with the Hackers at first. They originally contacted him to help him break into the attorney general's file. Why, I don't know. Go ask Peller. He's been keeping everything from us."

All Murray did was glance over at Edison, and Theora recognized the look that they shared, as if they were the only sane people in the world. She held her breath- _I haven't gone off the deep end, Murray. This time, you've got to trust me._

"Now is hardly the time to start a scandal-" Murray began.

Edison brusquely cut him off. "Oh, for God's sake, Murray! The telelection isn't for another year. If we have to replace Peller-" _which we should, _his eyes said- "Network 23 has plenty of time to handle it. It doesn't concern us, anyway. What concerns us is the fact that Theora has produced a new lead on this story, and we are _rapidly running out of time." _The last sentence was spoken in a half-whimpering, half-gasping voice, as if the words were being wrung out of Edison. He stared at Murray with naked desperation in his eyes, willing the producer to relent at last.

In turn, Murray's eyes moved to Theora. "Theora, are you sure about all of this?"

"As sure as I've ever been," Theora whispered. Her heart was pounding as she stared up at Murray, waiting for a response.

He nodded slightly and turned away, and this was a cue for Edison to grab his vidicam and head for the door. Silently, Theora turned her attention away from the real world and towards the more pleasurable world of machines and the mainframe.

"All right, Peller," Edison said as soon as he was able to confront the former attorney general in his home. Peller's surprised face lit up Theora's screen, and she stared at it, breathing hard. "What sort of information did you forget to give us?"

Simon Peller's lips parted. "What do you mean? Is this about the investigation? I've already told you-"

"Not according to my controller you didn't," Edison spat. "You know Theora. She was injured by the Order of the Hackers last week. No comment on that little incident?"

Theora gulped, realizing that Edison had taken it into his head that Peller was somehow responsible for her attack. Well, maybe he was… now that Theora had figured out that Peller was withholding information, she wasn't sure if she could trust anything he said. Into her microphone she murmured "Don't let your temper get away from you, Edison. We have no proof of anything yet."

Peller's eyes narrowed. "I was informed of that. What, do you think _I'm _somehow responsible?" His eyebrows mashed together in annoyed anger, his tongue lashing at Edison. "Whatever the Order did, it had nothing to do with me! I was stuck in this house the whole time!"

"Nothing to do with you," Edison echoed, as if he was puzzling out a problem. "I didn't even imply that it did. Tell me, Peller, what are _you _implying?"

Theora held her breath, waiting for an answer. Behind her, she heard Murray grunt, "If this turns out to be false-"

"You think I'm more directly involved with the Hackers than I let on." The statement was cool, coming from a carefully-composed Peller. He folded his hands behind his back and glared straight at Edison.

"I know you are," Edison replied, and Theora was grateful for his belief. "If you are, it's your own fault that your niece was kidnapped. It's your own fault that…"

"He killed my child," Theora whispered, and Edison said, in a slightly bemused tone, "That my child is dead."

There was a stony silence- possibly Peller hadn't expected these accusations. Then he said, "What happened to your… to your child?"

"These Hackers attacked the woman I love," Edison murmured, his voice a husky growl. Theora could only stare at the screen and watch Peller's expression carefully. "She miscarried as a direct result of the attack."

Theora didn't even realize she was shaking until Murray's hands fell on her shoulders, comfortably massaging her. She swallowed hard and tried her best to stay focused.

Onscreen, Peller deflated. "My God," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Mr. Carter."

"Tell me," Edison groaned, "everything you know."

And so the suddenly-sobered Peller repeated the story he had told Edison before, only this time it was amended. It wasn't Bryce that the Hackers had asked Peller to contact at all; it was Theora. And, more importantly, it wasn't the mainframe they wanted- that they had access to. Instead, they wanted to access Peller's personal data file, just as Theora had guessed.

"But _why?" _Edison asked sharply. "What did they want with your information?"

"They wanted to change it to their information," Peller explained wearily. "I got the feeling that Jay Byrd wanted to be recognized as the leader of this city, but he didn't explicitly tell me so. The story they gave was that they would help my position. By editing data in the file, they could ensure that the mainframe recognized me as attorney general, no matter what the results of the telelections said. 'Give us the best,' they said. 'Give us Theora, and we'll help you remain in power forever.'"

"Oh my God," Murray whispered, looking down at Theora to gauge her reaction. She sat frozen like an iceberg, transfixed.

"I never expected them to kidnap Nicole," Peller said brokenly. "I don't know how they did it…"

"Do you know how to contact them?" Edison asked, his voice a quiet roar.

Peller shook his head. "I'm sorry about Theora," he repeated. "I hope she recovers." And that was the end of that.

Once Edison had left Simon Peller's house, he spoke to Theora through the link to Control. She roused herself and listened hard to his words.

"I don't get it, Control. Why did the Hackers kidnap Nicole Rains if they found a more direct way to get to you?"

"I don't know," Theora whispered, feeling cold inside. She wrapped her arms around herself, speaking fervently. "Edison. Did any of the paper messages have watermarks or signs of erasure?" It was her last hope of finding the girl that had been kidnapped.

Murray answered for her. "All were written on plain white paper."

"Oh." Theora felt the tremors start again, and she tried her best to ignore them. "Never mind, Edison. We're at a dead end." All of a sudden she felt lost, drifting through the open sea.

Edison sounded as hopeless as she felt. "I'll see you back at Network 23." Theora moved over to a street view and watched as the little blue dot that was Edison made its way back to its destination.

Behind her, Murray pulled away from Theora and moved so that he was directly in her line of vision. In a tone that revealed his concern for her, he asked, "Do you want to take a break? I'll make sure Edison gets back safely."

Theora was about to shake her head, but then she stood up instead. "Just for a bit," she promised. "Thank you, Murray." She watched as he sat down in her seat, and then she wavered across the floor, unsure of where to go.

Before Theora had taken enough steps away from her terminal, a familiar figure approached her, someone with blonde hair tied into a bun and a deeply tragic expression on her face. "Hello, Theora," Tina said, sadness saturating her words.

Theora blinked, taking the time to focus on Tina. "Hello, Tina," she replied stiffly, and couldn't resist a glance at Tina's stomach. There was no obvious rounding, but Theora was sure that in a few months Tina would be visibly pregnant, something that Theora had hardly gotten the chance to be. "How are you? How's Bryce?"

"Bryce and I are fine," Tina said, seeming uncomfortable. She blinked mascara eyelashes at Theora, her two blue eyes crystalline despair. "Theora, I… I'm really sorry about what happened."

Theora shrugged, not meeting Tina's gaze. "It's okay." People kept saying the same platitude, _I'm sorry, _but they never really seemed to mean it. A vision of a smiling, pregnant Tina filled her mind, and she had to shut it far out.

"Do you want to talk to me about it?" Tina pressed. "I know it must have been hard for you-"

'No, Tina, I'm fine," Theora sighed. "There's nothing more that needs to be said." She glanced up, making eye contact with Tina for one second before Tina appeared to get uncomfortable and shift away from her. She cleared her throat, searching for something new to say, and came up with, "Bryce just left the city, actually."

"Hm?" Now that Theora had broken the eye-contact-barrier, she couldn't stop staring at Tina. "Why did he leave?"

"He's gone to visit his parents out in the suburbs," Tina said. "He informed them on the viewphone about his marriage and my pregnancy, but they wanted to see him in person."

Theora gave a soft chuckle at that. "How did he get out of work and you didn't?"

"Beats me," Tina said, shrugging. "He _is _closer to the upper authorities than I am, so he probably got them to pull some strings." Theora nodded politely in response, and the conversation lapsed into silence, both of them trying to gauge the other's opinion and deem what was appropriate to say and what wasn't.

Then the silence was broken by Edison entering the room, and Theora turned away from Tina with a muttered, "See you." She trailed Edison as he went over to the terminal, where Murray was standing up.

"How about that," he unhappily addressed his audience of two. "You were right all along, Theora, but there's still no way of tracking down the Order of the Hackers."

"I know," she said, dipping her head and feeling the choking sensation of anxiety begin to consume her. Somewhere in the back of Theora's mind had been the assumption that by coming into work for the first time in a week, she would have been able to immediately solve the investigation on her own, just like magic. The fact that her team was only back where they started heaped frustration on her. Why couldn't she get her head in the game?

"It's all right, Theora," Murray said, most likely noticing the expression on her face that she wasn't doing well at concealing. He reached out to pat her shoulder comfortingly, and she stiffened in spite of herself. "You did well in uncovering new information."

"Yeah, but it's not enough," Edison said quietly. He stared up at the ceiling before sighing and shaking himself out of his thoughts. "There has to be something that we missed… something that's not obvious at first glance." He turned halfway away from the group, ready to rack his brain over every little detail of the investigation. Theora figured he was as discouraged as she was.

"It's no use," she said sourly. "The Hackers are geniuses. Any sign of their existence was probably wiped away as soon as it was created." With that, Theora walked despondently over to her monitor and sat down before it, gazing deeply into the darkened screen as if it held all of life's answers. Edison was wrong- there was no way of finding the Order of the Hackers and thus relocating Nicole Rains. There couldn't possibly be a way…

"Hey now," Murray said gently, coming over to Theora's side. Theora turned her head away from him, knowing that whatever he had to say wouldn't help her in the least. She felt his hand at her shoulder, urging her to cheer up. "I think it's safe to say that none of the Hackers are geniuses. That word is reserved for people like Bryce Lynch. They're definitely no professionals…"

Theora was no longer listening. She had stopped listening at the name _Bryce Lynch._

Peller's original story had claimed that the Order of the Hackers had contacted him in order to get in touch with Bryce Lynch. Bryce was unquestionably just as good as Theora in the hacking department.

The pieces fell into place so quickly that Theora felt dizzy. She stood up in a mighty rush, and didn't stop to answer questions before pelting towards Tina's workstation. "Tina! Tina, Bryce is in danger!"

"Wh- Bryce?!" Tina gasped, poking her head up from behind her monitor. A second later she had sprung to her feet and rushed forward to meet Theora halfway. "What are you talking about?"

There was no time to explain the whole thing. Rapidly, Theora responded, "The Hackers are trying to target him. How early this morning did he leave for the suburbs?"

"It wasn't that long ago," Tina said, her blue eyes wide. "Just about half an hour. Theora-" She grabbed Theora's wrist, her red lips rounding into an O-shape of shock. "What do you mean, Bryce is being targeted?!"

"You need to go to him," Theora said, pulling her wrist from Tina's hand in one deft motion. She swept around to stare back at the faces of her gobsmacked reporter and producer. "Edison, you need to go with Tina to find Bryce and stop the Hackers before it's too late."

"But The-" Edison began.

"_NOW!" _Theora shouted back in return. "Edison, you have to go _now! _There's not a moment to lose. I'll explain through your vidicam's link!" Hurrying back over to her terminal, she gave Edison a shove, and he hastily got moving and made his way over to Tina, who was planted firmly in the middle of the floor, her face an uncomprehending mess of emotions. "I can't take this again," she said, her voice struggling against a wave of tears. "I've already led him into danger once…"

"You must go with Edison!" Theora demanded, her fingers flying against the typewriter keys hooked up to her monitor. "If you get going, Bryce's life will be saved!" She didn't relax until Tina and Edison were out the door, and even then her eyes began nervously scanning the mainframe for signs of their progress.

"Theora, would you mind telling me what's going on?" Murray asked, sounding more spooked than annoyed.

She nodded, and then spoke into the microphone. "Edison, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Control," came the terse reply.

_Thank goodness. _The muscles in Theora's back loosened just a bit. She began to answer Murray's question along with feeding Edison information. "Think about it for a moment. Peller told us originally that the Order of the Hackers wanted Bryce to give them information, not just me. His reputation is on the level as mine. He's been in the news recently, so initially they must have gone after me for being lower profile, but his leaving town was the perfect excuse to attack him like they did to me and see if he'd give up his secrets." _They could have even orchestrated the viewphone call, _her mind suggested, but Theora didn't heed the idea.

"My God, the poor kid," Edison breathed. "First attacked by Alex Burgess, then an attempted attack by a psycho hacker…"

Over the audio link came the sound of a female moan, followed by a sharp protest. "Bryce is _not _a kid anymore, Edison. He's nineteen years old! He's my husband. And we're going to find him!" There was a moment of silence, and then Theora heard Tina sob, "I can't do this again. If any of those hackers touch him, they're dead!" She broke off in tears, and Theora pictured the scene- Tina collapsed in Edison's arms, hugging him around the neck with her face buried in his shoulder, and Edison awkwardly trying to comfort her. The mental image was in some way confirmed when Theora heard Edison mutter, "Tina's hysterical. You think it was a good idea for her to come along?"

"Bryce will protect her," Theora said. "As soon as he sees Tina, he'll come right over." But she suddenly remembered her own attack, and prayed that Tina- happy, pregnant Tina- wouldn't be overtaken by the Order of the Hackers. How far would they go to target Bryce? Glancing up at him, Theora noticed that Murray too looked stricken.

On the bus that would take Edison and Tina to the outskirts of their city, Edison kept his camera focused on the floor beneath their feet. The lack of visuals didn't stop Theora from picturing their expressions. Edison would be cradling the vidicam between his legs, his hands clasped together on top of it and his eyes gazing straight ahead in the distance. Tina was probably shifting around in her seat, anxiously glancing out the window and staring at fellow passengers and occasionally brushing loose strands of hair behind her ears or checking her makeup. It occurred to Theora at that moment that perhaps the reason Tina always looked so perfectly put-together was that her mind was not, and she wanted to feel confident about herself. The act of putting on makeup was likely a soothing tactic.

Getting off the bus, Theora and Murray watched as the backdrop of dull, cramped seats transitioned into rows and rows of small, boxy houses. Each lawn was impeccably trimmed, and the sun shone in a cruel mockery of the day's mood. Edison swept the camera from side to side, scoping out the scene, and then asked Tina, "What's the Lynches' address?" He turned the camera onto her as she answered, and everything Theora had imagined sprang into reality on her face- the open fear and worry, the red eyes and wringing of hands. A surge of sympathy ran through Theora when she took in Tina's state. She didn't deserve to deal with this misery.

Because of Tina's condition, Edison took off at a brisk walk rather than a run, and Theora wondered if he wished he could move faster, unhindered by a pregnant woman. She took a look at the mainframe's view of the street- and suddenly gasped. "Edison!" Further ahead at the end of the block, just a few steps down the corner of the sidewalk, a lone blue dot was moving- and three other blues dots were readily converging on him. _Bryce._

"Hurry up, Edison!" Theora cried. "Bryce is at the end of the block, and the Hackers are there! You've got to get to him!"

Tina shrieked, and Edison yelled "Thank you, Control!" before taking off at a run. Theora watched the image onscreen with bated breath, willing Edison with her mind to move faster. "You're almost there! Turn the corner-"

As soon as Edison obeyed, the scene came into full view on Theora's monitor. The familiar black-clothed, black-masked figures that constituted the Order of the Hackers- all three of them, Theora realized suddenly- were fighting to capture Bryce, surrounding him in a circle. Bryce stood in a defensive posture, surveying the group with his eyes, but he wasn't prepared to fight his way out and Theora knew it. She watched with horror as Edison dashed up and, in a flash, one of the Hackers had grabbed Bryce while the two goons- Jay Byrd's goons- ran over to meet Edison in combat.

The scene grew very bumpy then, as Edison swung his camera to knock one of the approaching men out cold. Tina cried out in distress as she came upon the scene, off-camera, and as the second man rushed at Edison he ran to her and thrust the vidicam into her hands. Now the picture remained pointed at the ongoing fight, but it shook badly as a result of Tina's fear. Theora watched Edison tackle the second man, and they plunged to the ground, furiously wrestling. Jay Byrd only watched the fight, hugging Bryce to his chest like a limp noodle.

"Why isn't he running away?" Murray wondered under his breath. "He's got Bryce- he's got what he wanted… Why isn't he taking advantage of Edison's distraction?"

"Better for us that he's not," Theora whispered, but her attention wasn't focused on Jay. It was as if his negative energy carried straight through the screen of the monitor. Instead, Theora fixed her sights on Edison's struggle with the second goon, hardly daring to breathe another breath. She was barely aware of Murray standing up, calling out for backup- instead her mind pulsed with the desire to be with Edison in the flesh. She longed to appear in front of the men who had beaten her, to slam their heads into the asphalt. Her body was no longer a vessel and so it didn't matter what they did to her anymore…

Onscreen, Edison had rolled the second goon onto his back. He jerked him up by his collar and then smashed his head to the ground. The goon went out like a light.

"Oh my God…" Tina choked out over the video link. "Please save Bryce…"

As if he had heard her, Edison got to his feet as quickly as possible. He stood in place for a few moments, staring at Jay Byrd, who was probably gazing impassively back. Bryce looked like a featureless paper doll in his violent grip.

"Give him to _ME!" _Edison growled, and launched himself forward. Predictably, Jay turned away, about to make off with Bryce.

But unpredictably, Bryce suddenly jerked his arm so that his elbow caught Jay in the jaw. Catching Jay by surprised, he struggled out of his grip and, before Jay could round on him, reached into his pocket and drew out a familiar knife.

"Weren't expecting that, were you?" he said in his equally-familiar underwhelmed tone, before zeroing in on Jay and pressing the blade against his hidden throat.

"BRYCE!" Tina screamed, and although Edison's run had come to a halt as soon as he saw Bryce pull the knife, he crossed the distance just in time to take over for Bryce and lock his arm around Jay Byrd's throat.

"Tell me where Nicole Rains is," he spat, "or you're a dead man."

For the first time since they had come across him, Jay spoke. Theora wanted to curl herself up into a ball at the sound of his gravelly voice. It brought the memories back again, lashing at her skin…

"You tell your friend to tell me how to access the attorney general's file," he said. "I promise I'll let all three of you go free."

Tina was getting closer, and Theora's heart was beating faster the nearer vidicam got to Jay Byrd. She wanted to tear her eyes away from the screen, but couldn't seem to find the strength.

"Three?" Edison said, sounding disgusted. "If you mean me and the Lynches here, you are sorely mistaken. Now be a good boy-" though the statement was harmless in itself, Edison's voice made it positively menacing- "and take us to Nicole."

Bryce said something at that moment that sent a chill through Theora. He poked Jay with the knife and declared in an eerily sing-song, threatening tone, "I believe the chelloveck is poogly of us!"

The camera image stopped dead along with Tina, frozen on a close-up of Jay's mask. Tina said in a shivery voice, "Oh God, Bryce. Please… please don't talk like _him…"_

"You're surrounded by houses, Jay," Edison taunted. "These people can see you from behind their windows. None of them would hesitate in calling the Metrocops."

Jay paused, and then said in that deep voice that Theora hated to the very bottom of her soul, "They'll call the cops on _you."_

"They know me." Edison's grip on Jay's throat suddenly tightened, and he leaned in to whisper so closely in Jay's ear that he could have touched him with his tongue. "However, no one in the city knows who you are. Let's say we change that, shall we?" He motioned for Bryce to move aside, and then together they fought back Jay Byrd so that Edison could rip the mask from his face. Finally the kidnapper of Simon Peller's niece and the main cause of Theora's misfortune stood exposed in the open air, his defiant sneer filling the monitor's screen.

It was not a very remarkable face. In fact, Jay Byrd looked like one of many middle-aged citizens Theora would see on the street every day, long face and receding hairline and everything. His hair was thick, wiry, and a shade in between ginger and brunette. It grew sparsely on his head, but his chin was well-furnished to make up for it. He had a few splotches of pale freckles on his cheeks, creamy skin, and the wateriest blue eyes Theora had ever seen.

Jay Byrd spoke, and the voice that Theora had assumed was translated through a voice-changing device came from his uncorrupted mouth. It was the wrecked voice of a carelessly unhealthy and unrepentant chain-smoker. "Are you on air?"

"I can go on air right this second," Edison's voice said. But Theora wasn't listening.

_He killed my child. He hurt me. He killed my child._

Theora didn't realize that these words were forming on her lips until it was too late. "He killed my child. He killed my child!" She rose to her feet, starting to shudder all over and unable to look away from Jay Byrd's face. "You hurt me! You murdered it. You killed my child! Murderer! _Murderer!"_

She flipped the bird at the face onscreen, the face that was quickly taking up the edges of her entire vision. Her chest felt tight and hot, and she wanted to gasp for air. "Murderer! Murderer! I hate you! _I hate you!" _Network employees were lifting their heads to look at Theora in her outburst, but she didn't pay them any mind. The only moment her attention was diverted from the face of Jay Byrd was when Murray locked his arms around her from behind in a restraining hug. She thrashed in his grip, cursing at Jay Byrd all the way. Murray's deep voice murmured in her ear, "Calm down, Theora. Calm _down."_

She was half-dragged, half-led haplessly over to Murray's office. He opened the door and took her over to the small couch that was set up in the back, where Theora used to lie down whenever she felt ill thanks to the baby. It was only when Murray let go of Theora and she tumbled onto the couch that she realized her body was heaving with sobs. She curled into a fetal position, so sick of this but unable to stop it. Callously enough, Murray didn't even stay to comfort Theora, instead racing out of his office back to the monitor. It dawned on Theora that she had left Edison without a controller at the worst possible moment, and the shame added to the bite of her tears.

In a few minutes Theora was all cried out, but instead of getting up and trying to compose herself she fell into a deep, long sleep, her head pillowed on one hand and her hair falling in her face.


	9. Chapter 9

The first thing Theora saw when her eyes opened after her lengthy nap was Bryce Lynch sitting on the arm of the couch, just a centimeter away from her. Groaning, she pushed herself into a sitting position and faced Bryce, noticing before the head rush came that Tina was standing further back in the shadows, watching the two.

"Hi, Theora," Bryce greeted her. "How are you doing?"

"Bryce…" Theora shook her head, trying to sort out the mental images of Bryce held captive, Bryce with a knife, from the real Bryce that now sat before her. "Thank God you're all right," she concluded with a sigh.

Bryce shrugged characteristically. "Edison wasn't going to let anything happen to me. Neither was Tina- she would have bashed that guy's head in with the vidicam if he had done anything to me." He chuckled momentarily, and then stopped shortly. "But seriously, Theora- are you okay?"

_Of course not, _Theora wanted to say, but the words felt too stale. She remembered suddenly her breakdown at the unmasking of Jay Byrd, and cringed internally. Of all the times to fail Edison…

Instead of answering the question, she stared up at Bryce's wire-framed eyes, trying her best to remember what was nagging at her. Finally it came to her, and she asked, "Bryce, when did you learn nadsat-talk?"

He blinked, as if surprised that it wasn't obvious. "After my attack… after you-know-who was put in the State Jail, I went to learn about the nadsat culture. You know, if I'd grown up in the wrong environment, I could have ended up just like Alex." He leaned forward towards Theora, his eyes sparkling with the growth of new knowledge. "I suppose it was a way to help me with understanding what had happened. By learning about my enemy, even taking on some of his behaviors such as carrying a knife, I wasn't so afraid anymore. You know what everyone always says, Theora- _what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."_

Theora nodded slightly, turning the phrase over in her mind. _What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. _She felt that in some roundabout manner, this was Bryce's way of expressing sympathy for her. No, not sympathy- it was empathy that Bryce felt. It was more than just their renown in the field of technology that made them equals. They had also both been beaten, attacked, and had something valuable taken from them by force. And it was clear from Bryce's words that he had learned and grown from the experience. Theora saw at once that she agreed with Tina's protest against Bryce being referred to as a child. The tragedy that had occurred for him that summer was just the first step in his gradual maturation from child to adult.

Theora already was an adult, and didn't know what she was supposed to take away from her experience besides sorrow. Thanks to Bryce's words, however, she now realized that she still had some growing to do. There might be more pregnancies in the future, more chances and opportunities to raise a child. Or she might not want a child at all- it was entirely up to her.

"What a shame that nadsat-talk is used as a language of evil nowadays," Bryce said as a means of filling up the silence and startling Theora out of her reverie. "It's really quite fascinating once you begin to study it."

"I should assume so," Theora said slowly as she returned to herself. Glancing out at her surroundings, she again noticed Tina standing off to the side, waiting for Bryce to come to her. Quickly, she changed the subject, and tried to infuse life into her voice. "Tina's waiting, Bryce. Thanks for making sure I was okay."

"You're welcome," Bryce said, standing up. He made a few steps away from the couch, and then looked back at Theora over his shoulder. "If you want to come down to my studio sometime and talk about nadsat or… or your experiences, feel free."

"All right," Theora said, and suddenly felt a stunning smile appear on her face for the first time in days. She watched Bryce go over to Tina and take her hand, and then called to them. "Tina?"

"What is it?" Tina asked, her forehead creased in worry.

Theora looked down at the hands in her lap. "I'm very happy for you and Bryce," she said quietly. Relieved, Tina smiled, nodded, thanked Theora, and then turned to leave the office with Bryce. Theora watched them go. As the door opened and the Lynches exited, Edison Carter came in at the same moment. He barely looked at Bryce and Tina, instead making a beeline straight for Theora. As he approached, Theora's smile faded, and she arranged herself so that her legs were folded to the side beneath her and she leaned with one hand against the couch.

As soon as Edison sat down beside her, Theora's first words were, "Is she all right?"

"Who?" Edison asked, perplexed.

Theora leaned her elbow against the arm of the couch and pressed her palm to her cheek, staring over at Edison. "You know who I mean. Simon Peller's niece, Nicole Rains."

He sighed, as if he would prefer not to talk about such things. "She's fine. We got the head Hacker to lead us to the place he was hiding her, out in the Fringes. You should have seen Bryce on the way there- he didn't take that knife away from his throat once!" Theora nodded, and Edison went on, "Nicole's been returned to her family and the Hackers are being questioned at the police station. Hopefully this whole thing will be over by tomorrow."

"And did you go live with the story?" Theora asked. Edison nodded. "Thanks to good ol' Murray, the story went on air in a matter of seconds. You know, he's an old dog, but he sure can learn new tricks." He chuckled to himself, but when he looked over to see why Theora wasn't joining in the expression on her face stopped him cold. Theora bit her lip, trying to remain in control. She couldn't fall to pieces again, and yet she felt so vulnerable sitting beside Edison, as if all her personal walls were torn down when he was around. It felt like being the only girl in a roomful of boys at the state home where she had been taken as a child, watching their eyes move maliciously across her body.

"What's wrong?" Edison asked, reaching for Theora, but she stopped him before he could lay a hand on her. She took a deep breath, refusing to meet his eyes for being ashamed. "Edison, I… I've dropped the ball as a controller at least three times now. I left you in the field back when Shawn was raking. I went out on my own during the student revolt, just to save you…"

She paused for an agonizing length of time, not even wanting to think about what she had just done. But the words poured from her anyway. "And I… I lost control today when you encountered Jay Byrd. Edison, I am so sorry… seeing him again just overwhelmed me…" The excuse felt inadequate, and Theora focused her sights firmly on a freckle on her arm, staring at it as if she had never seen such a thing before. She couldn't bear to look at Edison. Somehow she knew that feeding him apologies wasn't enough to make up for what she had done.

However, Edison spoke to her calmly and softly when he finally did speak. He reached out again, and this time Theora didn't resist his touch. Edison pulled Theora into his chest and embraced her tightly, whispering in her ear. "Hey. You don't have to feel bad about it. Grief comes out at funny times, and it's not always convenient."

Theora nodded, remembering how well Edison knew that- his grief for a friend had come out once during a broadcast, after all, making him attack the men who were responsible. She buried her face in Edison's shoulder and breathed deeply, taking the scent of his coat into her lungs.

"It was inexcusable," she stated firmly, understanding Edison's words but not willing to believe that she had been in the right to break down. "It's just… I guess that if there had been a… a burial, I might be able to handle it better."

At that, Edison pulled away from Theora, and before she could feel upset at his letting go, he reached out and gently stroked her cheek. His eyes were large and reflected Theora's sadness.

"There was a burial," he said. "You think I would just let them dispose-" The word broke off, and Edison glanced away from Theora, seemingly anguished.

"…Oh." There was nothing else she could say to that. Theora envisioned a tiny grave marker, and felt her throat close up. With difficulty, she managed to say, "Where was- where was it buried?"

"Gladhand Meadows," Edison said, still looking away from Theora. "I arranged the burial on my time off… There's no name on the marker," he said, swallowing heavily. "Just 'Carter/Jones Baby.'" At last, he met Theora's eyes in an expression of pain. "You don't have to call him an _it. _One of the doctors told me that the baby was… would have been a boy."

_A boy. _A rowdy, smirking, passionate son was what Theora would have had. He could have trained at Network 23 alongside Edison. Or he could have gone to the Academy of Computer Sciences to learn Theora's tricks and more. Every possible future for the child that could not be rose up in Theora's mind, and then faded just as quickly as they had come.

She reached out to Edison, and he responded at once, drawing closer until their arms were around each other again. Locked in the hug, Theora wished that she could sink into Edison and never come back for air. She wished that she could forget her day-to-day life and run off, run far away from Network 23 and news reports and her job as a controller.

But the present, and the future, both had to be faced. Slowly, Theora pressed her lips to Edison's cheek and, after another minute had passed, let go of him. He gazed back at her with his eyes burning brightly in that way that she loved.

"Theora, I-" he began, but Theora put a finger to his lips. "Don't say it," she warned. "Don't even think it." She was done with the three-word sentiment for the time being.

Edison's eyes tightened, but he said nothing, and after a while he got up from his seat and, with one last ruffle of Theora's hair, went to the door. Theora inhaled and then stood and followed him out.

It was a late afternoon in May 2007 when an expected event happened unexpectedly. Bryce Lynch had just gone home to the apartment that he shared with Tina, anxious to show her his perfected invention. It was earlier than he would usually be allowed to leave Network 23, but ever since Tina had taken maternity leave Bryce had to go home early to help her. He found her lying on the sofa eating a bowl of ice cream, her belly inflated like a balloon. After a welcome-home kiss, Bryce produced the machine he had been working on with his friend Jenny and showed it to Tina.

"Pressing this button causes it to record images," he said, demonstrating. "It'll take a little more work, but we're planning on getting it to receive TV transmissions. It already works with the radio. The images it will show are in a higher definition than ever before."

"That's amazing," Tina breathed, touching the blank screen with one finger. "Does it have a name?"

"I wanted to call it the Pad," Bryce said, gazing down on the smooth surface of his creation. "It's flat, like a keypad. But Jenny didn't like the name for some reason."

Tina struggled to control her humorous expression. Sometimes Bryce was still as naïve as he had been when Tina had first seen him. She said dryly, "Take it from another woman, Bryce. _Don't _call it the Pad."

"O…kay?" Bryce said, giving a flustered smile that melted Tina's heart. "Here, why don't you try it?" He passed the invention over to Tina, who grinned as she hit the button at the top to turn it on. A few seconds later, her grin disappeared and a shudder of pain rippled through her body.

"You don't like it?" asked Bryce worriedly, misreading Tina's expression.

"No, I…" Tina set the invention aside and, with great effort, pushed herself into a standing position. She cradled her round stomach and gazed at it with apprehension. "Bryce, I need to go to the hospital."

"You're sick?" Bryce said, touching Tina's shoulder. She shook her head. "I think our baby is done incubating."

"_Ding!" _Bryce cried, catching on immediately. "It was in there for nine months; it's bound to be overcooked by now!" Hurriedly he latched onto Tina's waist and attempted to haul her out the door. "Let's get a move on!"

"Bryce," Tina gasped as she half-stumbled over the threshold, "how much time have you been spending with Max lately?"

He gave her a dirty look. "You think I can't be funny by myself, hm? Well, come with me, my fair devotchka!" Tina hardly had time to think before she was descending the stairs urgently, her body's contractions beginning.

As Bryce drove the car that Tina had just bought two months before towards the hospital, he glanced over at Tina with a curious expression on his face. "When the baby arrives…" he started, and Tina geared herself for an awkward explanation. "Is it going to come out of, um… you know?" He gestured to Tina's crotch, and she nodded tightly, not trusting herself to open her mouth for fear that laughter would burst out of it.

Bryce nodded. "I thought as much. Now, here's one thing that hasn't been explained to me." He waited, coming to a stop at a red light, and Tina tried her best to compose herself before saying in monotone, "Yes, Bryce?"

"How does it _fit?" _Bryce asked. "That's all I want to know."

Wearily, Tina leaned her head against the cool glass of the window and gritted her teeth as another contraction passed. "I honestly can't explain, Bryce. Maybe you'll be brave enough to stick around in the delivery room and find out."

"Hm," was all Bryce said, thoughtful. The light turned green, and he practically floored it, giving Tina the shock of her life. They sped onwards toward the hospital.

About thirty minutes later, the news came in at Network 23. Theora looked up from her work to meet Edison, who was heading towards her, with a bright smile. "Edison! Guess what."

"Uh… what?" he asked, setting his camera down on the desk and looking Theora straight in the eye.

"Bryce just called from the hospital," she said, the grin nearly splitting her face open. "Tina's having her baby."

"Ah, that's great news!" Edison exclaimed, and Theora nodded softly. She glanced over to where Murray was approaching her and repeated the news to him, along with adding a request. "Can we get off from work to see Bryce?"

"You mean to watch Super Genius Baby be born?" Murray scoffed. "I don't think that's grounds for an afternoon off."

"Super Genius Baby." Edison shook his head and chuckled. "Maybe with Bryce's DNA, but I'm not too sure about Tina's."

"Edison," Theora chided him. "Tina is intelligent too. I'm sure the baby will share aspects of both parents."

"And I'm sure he can be born just fine without you two in attendance," said Murray. "Now let's review the footage Edison just brought back."

Wistfully, Edison and Theora returned to their daily work, but as soon as it was time for them to leave Network 23 Theora couldn't hasten her steps fast enough. It had been a struggle to support Tina throughout the months of her pregnancy, as Theora often reminisced on how it could have been her in the same position, but now that the baby was soon to be delivered she couldn't wait to see him for herself. Edison made off towards the open air- Theora had never been sure that he owned a car himself- but at the last second turned and looked back at Theora, standing by the driver's door of her vehicle. He cleared his throat. "Do you want a ride?"

"On what, your feet?" Theora teased.

Edison shook his head. "Come on. I'll drive you." He bounded through the parking garage to get to Theora's side and took the keys right out of her hand. Slowly, Theora moved over to the passenger's seat and, once Edison had unlocked the car, climbed in. Once they were settled in and Edison had turned the car on, they drove off in the direction of the hospital. An uneasy silence settled over the interior for the entire drive, and Theora wondered if Edison too was thinking on what could have been.

They arrived at the hospital shortly after Bryce's parents showed up, and were greeted casually but coolly by the first-generation Lynches. Neither parent was very fond of Edison Carter after his broadcast back in July, when he had put the catatonic Bryce on network TV, but with Theora they were more friendly, as she had taken care of Bryce following his attack, and behaved more warmly around her. Mrs. Lydia Lynch kept inquiring to the nearest doctors about how Tina was doing, which struck Theora as odd, seeing as Tina's mother was not doing the same. In fact, she hadn't yet seen heads or tails of the Wilson family. It was only when Theora and Edison had settled in that Tina's parents bothered to arrive, and Mrs. Wilson's expensive clothing and general imposing figure contrasted the plump and maternal angles of Mrs. Lynch quite unusually. She was decked out in fine threads and carried a small silver pocketbook with her wherever she went, which was mostly to and from the restrooms (Theora suspected she was obsessively doing her makeup in there) and up to whoever was last seen passing the delivery room where her daughter was in labor. Despite all her queries and snooty questioning the doctors' work, Mrs. Wilson never once considered going into the room herself to see how Tina was doing. Mr. Wilson, clad in a smooth black suit, stood in the corner beside Mr. William Lynch and engaged him in a gruff conversation about Bryce and his job.

"They make an odd couple," Edison whispered at one point, gesturing subtly to the pairings of women and men, and Theora nodded in agreement. She wondered what Tina thought of her parents being there, but refusing to see her. (Mrs. Wilson had already made it clear that she wouldn't enter the delivery room for fear of "uncleanliness.")

Even if she hadn't made her opinions so unnervingly clear, the nurse stationed outside the door informed the entire party that Bryce had specifically spoke against admitting anyone but himself in to see Tina until after the baby was born. Whether that was out of consideration for the doctors, who surely didn't want to be distracted, or whether he had been informed of Tina's insensitive parents beforehand and didn't want to hurt Tina's feelings on top of everything, Theora could only guess. She settled down on the couch beside Mr. William Lynch, while Edison took a seat across from the nearest TV set and let his eyes drift over to the screen. Together they waited for the news to come.

At 7:00, Theora had just finished a call to order pizza for the waiting party at the hospital when all of a sudden Bryce Lynch stepped out of the delivery room. He was drained and weary from the tension of watching his son come into the world, but there was a positive glow about him that lit up his eyes and bright smile. "Come in, everyone," he called, beckoning forth the party of parents and friends. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Theora, Edison, Bryce's parents, and the Wilsons shuffled single-file into the room, hearts beating fast. Bryce pushed aside the curtain separating Tina's bed from the rest of the room, and Theora's heart melted at the sight before her. Tina looked far more exhausted than Bryce did- her face was pale thanks to a lack of makeup, and her hair lay stringy around her sweat-dampened forehead, but her smile was radiant as she cradled a small human being in her arms. The party surrounded the bed, each one struck dumb by the sight of Tina's tiny child.

"Thank Ovu-Vat," Tina said softly, brushing the thin layer of hair on her baby's head. "And thank Bryce for being brave enough to watch." She shifted the child into one arm so that she could reach out and squeeze Bryce's hand, and he looked happy enough to explode. Gently, Tina moved the baby back into both arms and held him up to face the party. "This is Wil Carter Lynch."

"Well, well, well!" Mr. Wilson said proudly, puffing out his chest. "What a handsome young fellow he is!"

"Tina, darling!" gushed Mrs. Wilson. "I'm so happy for you!"

"His name is Wil for Tina's family name, and also for Dad's name," Bryce clarified, meeting the warm gazes of his parents, who stood by without saying a word. Lydia had tears in her eyes.

"And Carter?" Edison murmured, staring from Wil to Bryce and back again.

"We tried to think of a way to honor both of you," Tina said softly. "You and Theora were great friends to us when we needed you. It sounded odd to call him by a female name, though."

"Hey, you could have named him Theo," Edison joked, but Theora saw from his expression that he was extremely flattered. She smiled, looking down at the bedsheets that Tina was wrapped up in. It didn't particularly matter to her that she wasn't represented in the baby's name. All she had ever done was be enviously happy for Tina.

The pizza arrived momentarily, and after Bryce kissed Tina on the forehead and drew the curtains to let her and the baby sleep, he followed the rest of the party out to the waiting room, where they ate a much-needed dinner and Bryce told them everything that had surpassed in the delivery room, without graphic detail. "I've never felt like this before!" he said, setting down a half-eaten slice of pepperoni pizza on his paper plate to rub his hands together joyfully. "I've never felt this… happy. It's like I could jump over the Moon and back… although that of course would be impossible."

"You know, I'm happy you're happy," Lydia Lynch said, leaning in to pat her son on the shoulder and muss up his untidy hair. "Now eat up, or you might forget to do so!"

Bryce snorted at his plate. "Food- who needs it? I can't eat when I'm so excited!"

"Tell me," Edison said from his spot on the couch, where he was calmly picking the olives off of his pizza slice, "how did you handle watching Tina give birth?"

"It was a new experience," Bryce said matter-of-factly. "Completely and utterly fascinating. I filmed the whole thing on here." He lifted up the unnamed device that he and Jenny had created together, and everyone crowded in to stare in bemusement at it (except for Theora, who took advantage of Edison's distraction to reach over and steal the olives off his plate for herself).

"So t-t-tell me, Bryce," a voice sounded from the TV, "are you going to a-a-_air _that footage anytime s-soon?"

"Max!" Bryce exclaimed, leaping to his feet and running over to where the TV was mounted above his head. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"And my sincerest congra-congra-congratulations go to the p-p-proud father," Max said, beaming cheesily. "And to T-T-Tina of course. Tell me, is there a T-T-TV in her room?"

"You wake her up and she'll regret it," Bryce said, but he was grinning so widely that his threat was empty. Max flashed away, presumably to see if Tina would receive him.

"What's Max Headroom doing here?" Mr. Wilson whispered in a voice that was intended to be heard only by his wife, but that somehow reached the audience of the entire room.

"_He _made it," Mrs. Wilson murmured back, sounding disinterested. "It's just a boy's toy. Never mind that."

"I think…" Edison began, leaning over into Theora to counteract the furtive whisperings of the Wilsons, and then started when he realized that the olives on his plate had magically vanished. He looked up to see Theora chewing and gave her a small _I-know-what-you're-up-to _grin. "I think it's about time we left this family to its own dysfunctions."

And so, after finishing their pizza, the two made a hasty exit, not stopping until they had pulled out in Theora's car and were driving leisurely away. Edison shook his head as he recalled the events of the evening. "Bryce Lynch as a father. I never would have imagined it, but it somehow works."

"He and Tina and Wil are going to be very happy together," Theora said. "They're going to make sure it works out." She lapsed into the silence and fell prey to gazing dreamily outside the window, marveling over the cycle of life. Somewhere within herself she remembered the loss of her son, but shut the memory far away. This was the second-generation Lynches' moment of glory, and her bittersweet feelings played no role in that.

She didn't ask Edison where they were going until he pulled up in front of her apartment building and glanced knowingly over at her. "Your stop, ma'am?"

"Thank you, Edison," Theora said sincerely, noticing the contrast between the harsh lamplight and TV light outside and the shadows in the car. "Just park at the curb. I'll see you tomorrow."

She leaned over and pecked him in the cheek in one fleeting moment, and then sat hugging herself as Edison dutifully twisted the keys to shut of the ignition. He held the key ring out to her, and Theora slid it down one finger and then stared at Edison for one last moment, feeling as exposed as she ever had in front of him.

"What's wrong?" His tone was of light concern, but there was an undercurrent of disquiet that suggested he was thinking about the same thing that had earlier plagued Theora, the loss of their son, and wished to comfort her. Theora felt her insides grow warm at the thought of his care. She stole another glance out the window and refused to respond immediately, wrapping her arms more tightly around herself.

Bryce had been overjoyed this night. It was the night of birth and rebirth, a night of new beginnings. And suddenly Theora knew what she wanted.

"Would you," she asked, without meeting Edison's eyes, "like to come up and stay for coffee?"

"Would I…" His voice trailed off as it dawned on him what she meant.

Seconds later they were running fleetly through the night towards Theora's apartment building, ready to connect in a way that they hadn't since the year before.


	10. Epilogue

"Aw, Bryce, you shouldn't have!" Edison commented as he peeked inside the box which he had just unwrapped. He held up the gift inside, which was one of Bryce's FlatScreens that he had just gotten approval to sell, and gazed at his audience with a look of disgruntled amusement. "You really shouldn't have. I've gotten into the habit of using Theora's."

"No, he should have!" Theora exclaimed, playfully smacking Edison in the shoulder with her free hand. "You wouldn't _believe _the useless things he records on my FlatScreen!"

"Well hey, it's better than taking the camera home with me every day," Edison said. "And it records in high quality." He smirked at Theora, who batted her eyelashes back at him, and then turned his attention back to Bryce. "Thanks anyway, though, Bryce."

"You're welcome," Bryce replied. "Actually I was working on a project to give to both of you, but it's not quite done yet. I suppose since I gave you the FlatScreen, the robotic pet can go to Theora."

"A robotic pet?" Theora stated, her eyebrows raising. "Bryce, please tell me you didn't make me a fly on the wall."

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Theora, that's kid stuff. I'm not saying a word, but I know you'll love it."

"No fair, Bryce," Edison called. "Give us one little hint."

Looking even more exasperated, Bryce gave a perfect rendition of a cat's whine. "_Meow. _Now, on with the rest of the presents."

"A cat," Theora laughed. "You know me well, Bryce, I've got to say that."

"Yes, on with the rest of the presents," Murray spoke up from his seat behind the couch. "I've got to go in a few minutes to see Eva and Anni."

"All right, Mur," Edison said, getting up from his seat on the couch. He reached out to Murray and handed him what looked suspiciously like a wrapped bottle of liquor. "That's for all your troubles. Go out and enjoy yourself."

"Scotch," Murray said as he unwrapped the present, glancing approvingly at the bottle's label. "How old is this stuff, Edison?"

"Old enough," Edison replied. He gave Murray a shoulder-pat. "There's a card too, but Theora misplaced it."

"I did not!" Theora protested. "I just don't remember where I put it down. That's _not _the same thing."

"Actually, by definition…" Bryce began, but Tina put an arm around him and planted a kiss on his lips to silence him before he offended Theora.

"Look at Control losing control," Edison teased, and then reached down to squeeze her shoulder. "Oh, it's okay, Theora, you know we love you."

"I was, if you'll recall, distracted at the moment," Theora said. "Going into labor is a reasonable excuse for losing someone's Xmas card."

They all had a good laugh at that, and then Murray announced, "Well, I'm off. Thanks for everything, guys- merry Xmas." He made for the door to a chorus of "Bye Murray!" "See ya, Mur!" "Happy Xmas to you too!"

"Well now," Tina said, surveying the faces of her guests and settling back as Wil struggled in her arms, the glitter red of his pacifier sticking out amidst the drabness of his clothing. "Who here hasn't received a present yet?"

"I haven't," Bryce announced, and grinned deviously when Tina rolled her not-amused eyes onto him. "Oh really?" she declared. "What's this, then?" She tugged at the tie Bryce had around his neck, incongruous among the rest of his casual clothing. Bryce only gave her a hard stare when she bumped his foot with her foot. "Or these?" She indicated the flamboyant knee socks he wore on his feet, a gift from Edison and Theora. One was red and one was blue, and both had the images of computer chips and mathematical equations emblazoned across them. When Edison had come over to Theora's apartment wielding the socks and proclaiming that they would make a great gift for Bryce, who already had so much at his disposal, Theora hadn't even bothered to ask where he had gotten such things from. It would only complicate the matter.

"I was _joking," _Bryce said. "Every single time I'm around you guys it feels like I'm telling everyone the oldest punchlines in the book. What's with that?"

"Well, we don't tend to expect you to be funny," Theora said. She glanced down at the baby in her arms. "Do we, Julia?"

"Julia and Wil think I'm hilarious," Bryce bragged. But it wasn't much of a boast, as both children were too young to fully understand what humor was.

Theora said nothing in response to this, letting the topic drop. She only continued to gaze down at her baby, Julia Blue Carter, born just two weeks ago on a chilly December morning. It had not been a pleasant labor for Theora, and the triumph of it all being over was soured by the fact that Julia had been born a bit too early and had to spend the first days of her life in an incubator. But when Theora had woken up from the heavy process of labor, she had been comforted and surrounded by Edison, Bryce, Tina, Shawn, Winnie, and even Murray, who had faced his hospital-induced anxiety for her for the third time. And when she got to hold her daughter after the time in the incubator and notice that her eyes were exactly the brilliant shade of blue that Edison's were, she felt a deep, passionate love stir up inside her for her child. _If it hadn't been for the night Wil was born, _she reflected, _Julia would never have existed._

Edison, of course, had been understandably nervous when Theora announced for the second time that she was pregnant by him. This time they were more careful. Theora steered clear of any potentially harmful activities, and made sure to always go with Edison to the parking garage or other places where she might be targeted for her femininity. It was only when she could feel the baby move inside her, when her stomach was swollen so that she no longer fit into her old clothing and she found herself undergoing mood swings, food cravings, and strange impulses to do things that normally would make no sense to her that she let out her deep breath of suspense. The baby would be fine, and so would she. Of equal importance was the fact that Edison was just as overjoyed as Bryce had been on the day Wil was born, and stayed with Theora throughout the entire birth process. Second only to the adorably innocent expression in Julia's eyes when her mother first held her was the look in her father's eyes when he caught sight of her for the first time.

"Whatever, Bryce," Tina dismissed him, waving her free hand. Wil squirmed and she whispered, "Ssh!" before leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Let's see… we gave Julia her present…"

Theora glanced down at the miniscule jingle-bell-adorned bracelet wrapped around one of Julia's wrists and murmured, "Yes, indeed you did." Julia reached up just then, waving her arm around in the air, and a soft tinkle of bells came from the bracelet. Theora bent over her, letting Julia grab on to one of her long fingers. Smiling, Edison reached over and tickled Julia's toes, which were hidden by the tiny pink crocheted baby booties that Edison had bought as an Xmas present. Again, Theora hadn't asked where he had found them.

"I do have a small thing for you, Tina," Theora said, slowly adjusting herself and Julia so that she could reach down to grasp the bag on the floor beneath her feet. "It's not going to be as fancy as what Bryce gave you, but at least it's pretty."

Automatically, everyone turned their heads to the ceiling to look up at what Bryce had gotten for Tina. He had installed a disco ball and several colored lights into the ceiling, so that all they had to do to open the apartment for parties was to move away the rug and push the couch into a corner of the room. Coupled with Tina's old turntable, their newly-renovated apartment was now the perfect swinging hot spot, provided that Wil was put to bed at a reasonable hour before the music began.

The apartment was currently decorated with silver tinsel and Xmas lights that flashed on and off- Bryce was trying to get them to flash to the beat of whatever music was playing at the moment, but the challenge was proving to be difficult- and so it took a moment to draw one's eyes back from the spectacular sight and towards the small box that Theora had produced from her bag. She handed it over to Tina, who tore off the ribbon and lifted the lid with a trepidatious smile on her face. What she found inside made her gasp.

"Oh, Theora! It's brilliant!" She held the box up for all to see, in which sat nestled a lovely diamond necklace. Bryce made an appreciative sound, though Theora thought he might be faking it, and Edison glanced over at Theora inquisitively. _Is that what I think it is?, _his eyes asked, and Theora nodded softly. Now the last vestiges of her past unhealthy relationships were gone, dead, and buried.

"It certainly doesn't compare to Murray's gift," Tina smiled, and everyone chuckled, remembering how Murray had declared his gift was to give everyone on his team a day off. "But I love it, Theora. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Theora said politely. "Is that everything?"

"Well…" Tina glanced from side to side before taking a deep breath. "It's not a gift, but I definitely had something I wanted to announce to everyone."

"Oh?" Edison said, and Bryce reached out to lay his hand on Tina's and turn up the full smolder of his brown eyes. "Please tell me," he drawled, "that it's nothing I haven't heard before."

"Oh, you know about it all right," Tina said smoothly, looking away from Bryce. "You helped make it happen, anyway. Edison and Theora haven't heard, though. The fact is, I'm having another baby."

"You _are?!" _Bryce gasped dramatically, and then before anyone else could say anything, laughed at his own reaction. "Old news, guys. She told me about it this morning."

"Oh, Tina!" Theora cried. "What a great Xmas present!" She got up from her seat and reached out to give Tina a one-armed hug, as Tina did the same.

"That's the second time she's used the 'I'm having your baby so I don't have to buy you anything' excuse," Bryce informed his guests, making quotation marks with his fingers while his eyes twinkled. "Sooner or later she's going to have to give up…"

"The best part is," Tina said, gazing happily at her friends surrounded, "that Ovu-Vat had nothing to do with it this time."

Edison immediately leaned over to punch Bryce in the shoulder. "What d'you know? You're a man now!"

"Technically, I was a man before I even met Tina," Bryce said coolly. "Sixteen years old is adulthood, right?"

Edison shrugged. "Wonderful news, guys. I'm very happy for you."

"Drat, and now I feel so unoriginal," Theora sighed. "Julia was born so close to Xmas that she deserved to be Edison's present."

"And I couldn't have asked for a better one," Edison said. He moved to kiss Julia on the head, and then exchanged a tender smile with Theora.

"I was wondering what she got you," Tina piped up.

Theora turned her eyes onto her friend. "So surely you must be wondering what he got me, too? Because I haven't a clue."

Once again, everyone present laughed, even little Wil, who clapped his hands together in joy. Then, once the laughter had died down, Edison said, "Actually I did get you something."

Theora looked over at him, giggling, "Then where is it, silly?"

Instead of laughing it off, Edison gazed seriously into Theora's eyes for a few moments before standing. Never once breaking the ocular connection, he reached into his back pocket and drew out a small black box. Then, breathing slowly, he sunk down onto one knee before Theora and Julia.

Theora felt her blood run cold. She snuck a quick glance at Tina and Bryce, and was horrified to find them smiling knowingly in her direction. They had been in on this-

"Theora Jones," Edison said, forcing Theora's attention back onto him. He held out the box and flipped the lid open in a single movement. Inside, a golden engagement band stared solemnly back at her.

"You are the most important person in my life," Edison said, and Theora swore she saw him tremble with the effect of the powerful words. "You're my control, my rock, my love, and the mother of my child. _Our _child." He took a deep, steadying breath and continued in a whisper that Theora swore only she could hear, "In short, I love you, Theora. And I hope you feel the same way about me. Will you marry me?"

The room became silent enough that even the drop of a feather would have rung out like a pistol shot. Theora wouldn't have noticed, however, because her heart was pounding far too loudly. She stared helplessly at Edison before glancing up at Tina, Bryce, and Wil's happy faces. She looked down in her lap at little Julia, beginning to fall into sleep. And then she looked at Edison again, and saw that the flame in his blue eyes had multiplied a hundredfold. He looked at her as if she was the only human being left on Earth. According to that look, he would follow her anywhere.

Deliberately, Theora rose to her feet and resumed the stare at Edison from a higher position. The way he looked up at her from the ground was reminiscent of a god, although Theora knew that he would never put her on a pedestal. She didn't ever desire that. A full second stretched out in that manner, the worshipper who was a reporter and the idol who was a controller locking eyes with each other while their child slept between them.

Quietly, Theora whispered, "Get up." Edison didn't appear to understand at first. His eyes crinkled around the edges, and he drew to his feet, still holding the ring in one hand. Theora took the time to read the emotions running across his face- confusion, worry, pain at being rejected- before she shifted Julia into the crook of one arm and reached out to touch his cheek. She smiled, and it was only then that she noticed that tears were running down her face.

"I love you." The statement came out choked. "And I will be your wife, Edison. But don't ever… don't _ever _think that I am more than your equal." Her voice cracked, and Theora threw her free arm around Edison's neck, burying her face in his shoulder. He slowly moved his hands so that they rested comfortably around her waist, and then guided his lips to her mouth. The kiss that ensued was dizzying, intoxicating, and nothing like anything Theora had experienced before.

Tina and Bryce, for their part, burst into applause at the sight of the kiss. Theora didn't even hear them. She pulled away from Edison and stared smiling into his blue eyes, brimming with unshed tears of happiness and relief. As blue as the sky, as blue as the sea, as blue as Julia Blue's eyes… He pulled her in for another kiss, and the tears they wept ran into their mouths and gave the kiss a salty flavor.

"Best present ever," Tina said softly as she watched the two, and Theora and Edison fluidly broke apart with contented laughter. Together they sank back onto the couch, and Theora passed Julia over for Edison to hold while she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well," said Edison, not looking at either Tina or Bryce but instead at the baby in his arms. "Shall we go ahead and see what's on TV?"

"_I-I-I _am!" Max boomed from the nearby screen. "In just a f-f-few minute's time-t-t-time, the ho-ho-holiday special of the _Max-M-M-M-Max Talking Headroom Sh-Show _is going to air! A-Air! Stay tuned, fe-fe-fellas!" He zapped away, and Theora was left watching the screen with a more peaceful feeling than she had felt in a long time.

"Oh-Oh-Oh, and b-b-by the way, Bryce," Max said as he popped back up again, "you think you could m-m-make me a present? A ch-ch-change of clothes, perhaps-haps? How ab-b-b-bout some arms and l-legs for a change, huh? Huh? Or m-m-maybe a bride?"

"I'm not going Frankenstein for you, Max," Bryce chided his creation. "It was hard enough creating you! Besides, who would I scan to be your bride?"

Max glanced out innocently from the TV screen. "Well, Th-Th-Theora's a good place to start…"

"What do you think?" Edison asked her. "Virtual you meets virtual me and they fall in deep virtual love?"

Theora giggled as she tugged on his arm. "Edison. We don't need virtual versions of ourselves just to be in love."

"That's true." Together everyone turned their attention onto the TV, where Max was beginning his show.

"He-He-Hello and welcome to the Xmas special of the _Max-M-M-Max Talking Headroom Sh-Show! _Tonight we have a great-gr-gr-great show lined up for you- but first… let's hear C-C-C-Candy C-Cane's rendition of 'It's the Most W-W-Wonderful Time of the Y-Year.' Thank you!"

A smooth female jazz singer appeared onscreen, her white dress streaked with red like her namesake, with a children's choir behind her. She began to sing-

"_It's the most wonderful time of the year! With the kids jingle-belling and everyone telling you 'Be of good cheer!' It's the most wonderful time of the year…"_

Theora snuggled into Edison to share his warmth, and he smiled and put the arm that wasn't cradling sleepy baby Julia around her shoulders. The ring box still lay forgotten in his lap; slowly Theora reached over and slid the ring onto her finger, smiling with delight.

Tina and Bryce mirrored Edison and Theora, huddling into each other with gentle smiles on their faces. Wil beat his fists in the air to the music, and Bryce laughed. "We've got ourselves a philharmonic here."

"_It's the hap-happiest season of all…"_

Together, the two couples and their respective children faced the future with all their might.


End file.
